New Earth: Arrow
by Lauriverfanboy1
Summary: My name is Oliver Queen. After giving my life to create a new multiverse, I was given a second chance, not only at life, but to correct my mistakes and save those I lost before. I am the Paragon of life and the spectre, but most importantly, I am once again, the Green Arrow. Lauriver pairing. part one of New Earth saga.
1. Chapter 1

The last thing Oliver remembered was being caught in an explosion at the dawn of time as a spectre. He thought that he'd finally found peace after helping to create a new world to replace the old one. The last thing he remembered before his vision went dark was seeing Barry and Sara crouching above him as he watched the new universe be born. As he felt his life fade away, Oliver couldn't help but feel at peace knowing that he'd finally be reunited with those he'd lost. His father, Yao Fei, Shado, Akio, Taiana, Tommy, his mother, Maseo, Laurel, Quentin, Emiko, all of them. He'd see them again. It wasn't just his soul that was at peace, but his heart as well, knowing that he'd finally be reunited with Laurel again. In his death, he knew he could no longer lie to himself, she was his true love, not Felicity. He only hoped he could tell her that on the other side.

Then something changed and he felt himself being pulled back and suddenly, Oliver felt air surge into his lungs and his heart started beating again. He wasn't sure what was going on, but now he wasn't sure if he was dead, since it certainly didn't feel like it. He got his answer when he opened his eyes to find he was not in some kind of after life, but instead, he was in a hospital.

"Oh, Mr. Queen, you're awake." A doctor said and Oliver looked around to find himself in a hospital room in Hong Kong.

"Where am I, how did I get here?" Oliver asked, trying to get his bearings.

"You were brought here for treatment after you were rescued from Lian Yu." the doctor said.

"Lian Yu? What year is this?" Oliver asked.

"I suppose since you were gone for 5 years, it would've been hard for you to keep track of what year it is. It's 2012." the doctor said, surprising Oliver even more.

"What the hell is going on?" Oliver asked himself as the doctor left, trying to figure out how he was even still alive.

"I can answer that." a familiar voice said and Oliver turned to see Mar Novu standing in his hospital room.

"I thought you were dead." Oliver said.

"The same could be said of you." Novu pointed out.

"So why am I not dead? I was the spectre, I should've died to restart the multiverse. So what happened?" Oliver asked.

"When you recreated the multiverse, you changed your own fate. You were never just meant to be the spectre. You were the paragon no one knew existed." Novu said.

"I thought there were only 7 paragons." Oliver asked.

"As did I. It was not until I was reborn that the book of destiny revealed your true one to me. You, Oliver Queen, are the paragon of life. The most essential paragon of them all and as such, the paragon of life must continue to live on. You didn't just save the multiverse Oliver. You saved yourself. You gave yourself more time in this new world." Novu explained.

"Okay, but why am I back at my return from Lian Yu?" Oliver asked and Novu chuckled.

"Different earths exist in different parts of time. This new one exists 8 years in the past from the old one." Novu explained.

"Okay and is there anyway you can catch me up on what I missed in this world so I don't draw attention to myself?" Oliver asked and Novu nodded as he waved his hand and Oliver felt his head pound for a few moments before it faded.

"What did you just do to me?" Oliver asked.

"I gave you the memories of your counterpart from this new earth." Novu sadi and Oliver nodded.

"Will we be seeing each other again?" Oliver asked.

"Only if another emerges. So until then, goodbye Oliver." Novu said as he disappeared.

"Good riddance." Oliver said as he sat back down on the hospital bed and began to think about what he'd do differently in his new life.


	2. Chapter 2

A few minutes after Novu vanished, Oliver heard the door to his hospital room open and he turned to see his mother standing there in the doorway.

"Mom." Oliver said tearfully as the pain of not only losing his mother, but also the more recent loss of her earth 2 counterpart made seeing her again even more emotional for him.

"Oliver. Oh, my beautiful boy." Moira said with a tearful smile as she rushed up and hugged her son tightly and he hugged her just as tightly.

"I missed you so much mom." Oliver said as he let his own tears fall at getting his mother back.

"We missed you more. I swear, I had to stop Thea from stowing away several times before I left for the airport." Moira said with a tearful smile.

"You should've let her come." Oliver said.

"I wasn't sure what you'd be like when I got here. I didn't want to risk you scaring her by accident." Moira explained and Oliver nodded in understanding.

"Can we go home soon?" Oliver asked and Moira nodded.

"Once the doctors have discharged you, we'll go home." Moira promised.

"Can you get me something in the meantime?" Oliver asked.

"Name it?" Moira asked.

"A real cheeseburger. I've been stuck on an island for five years, I need something greasy to eat." Oliver said and Moira chuckled.

"I'll see what I can do." Moira promised.

"Thank you." Oliver said with a smile.

* * *

A few days later, Oliver was once again sitting in a limo next to his mother as they drove through Star City (he found it a little interesting that the city's name wasn't Starling again, but then again, in the end, it didn't really matter) and smiled when the car finally pulled up to the mansion.

"Are you okay?" Moira asked.

"It's good to be home." Oliver said truthfully and Moira smiled they got out of the car and Oliver quickly grabbed the chest that contained his suit from the valet.

"I've got this one." Oliver said, eager to see his sister again as he headed inside and before he could even put the crate down, he felt Thea jump into his arms and hug him tightly.

"I knew it. I knew you were alive." Thea said as she hugged her brother tightly and Oliver hugged her back.

"Hey Speedy." Oliver said as Moira smiled at her children's reunion.

"I missed you so much." Thea said and Oliver smiled.

"You were with me the whole time." Oliver said and he felt Thea smile even wider into his chest before she finally pulled away as another familiar face joined them.

"Oliver, it's good to see you again." Walter said and Oliver smiled slightly.

"Thank you Walter." Oliver said.

"You remember me?" Walter asked.

"Of course and given the fact that you're here now suggests that you're more than just my father's vice president?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver, Walter is my husband now." Moira said nervous about how he'd react.

"Mom, it's fine, I never expected you to remain a widow forever. I just hope Walter has been minding his manners with you." Oliver said and Moira sighed in relief and Walter chuckled.

"Don't worry Oliver, I have taken good care of her and Thea." Walter said and Oliver smiled.

"Good." Oliver said as there was a knock on the door.

"Who's that?" Oliver asked.

"Probably Tommy coming to tell you he was right about yachts." Thea said and Oliver had to admit, it was almost as if Thea had known what Tommy's first words to him had been the last time he'd come home from Lian Yu.

However, all those thoughts were set aside when he turned to see that it was definitely not Tommy at the door.

"Laurel." Oliver said, surprised that she was here, since according to his memories of this reality, he'd still cheated on her with Sara.

"Hi Ollie." Laurel said and before Oliver could even begin to apologize to her for what happened, she rushed forward and kissed him.

Oliver was shocked for a minute before he began to kiss her back and he couldn't help but smile extra widely as he did, since it had been so long that he'd almost forgotten how good it felt to feel her lips up against his own. It felt more right than Felicity ever had.

"Okay, I was not expecting that." Thea said as she watched them pull apart.

"Yeah sorry, I don't know what came over me." Laurel said and Oliver could tell that she was hiding something and after seeing her exchange a quick look with Thea, it was pretty clear that his sister was in on it.

"Can I talk to Laurel and Thea in private for a minute?" Oliver asked and Moira and Walter both nodded as they walked away.

"Not that I'm complaining, but Laurel, I thought you'd still be mad at me for what happened to Sara?" Oliver asked and Laurel smiled.

"I'm not mad at you anymore. Especially since I know that it wasn't your fault and Sara's still alive." Laurel said, shocking Oliver.

"How do you know that?" Oliver asked.

"Does the name J'onn J'onzz ring any bells to you?" Thea asked and now it made sense.

"J'onn restored your memories of the old earth didn't he?" Oliver asked.

"He did. I told you you'd find a way to cheat death. Again." Thea said, clearly smug that she was right.

"Enough Speedy." Oliver said.

"We're not the only ones. J'onn also restored the memories of John, Roy and Felicity, though that last one might make things a bit awkward considering that reunion I just saw." Thea said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but since the last time I saw you, I told you I loved you, I couldn't resist." Laurel said.

"I didn't exactly object." Oliver reminded her.

"What about Felicity. Thea told me that on the old earth, you two got married and had a kid together? How do you know she won't expect that to happen again?" Laurel asked, since while it sounded like her feelings were reciprocated, she didn't want to have to sit by and watch Oliver be with Felicity again while knowing that he'd rather be with her.

"I'll talk to her, since honestly Laurel, the only reason I got back together with her is because you were dead. Felicity and I, we didn't exactly bring out the best in each other and our marriage, after the honeymoon phase was over, we sort of started drifting apart. A part of me will always care about her, but she isn't in my heart. At least, not the way you are." Oliver said.

"And here I thought you weren't a romantic." Laurel said with a smile.

"I'm not, but I've had a long time to think about what I'd say to you if you did come back like your sister did." Oliver said and Laurel nodded.

"So anyways, Team Arrow is back in business." Thea said.

"You sure you want to get back in the game? What about your League of heroes?" Oliver asked.

"I'm still in high school and the League of Assassins still exists. There's no need for my league to exist. Plus, on this earth, I have something that I didn't before." Thea said.

"Really, what?" Oliver asked, right as Thea held up her hand and produced a spout of water from it.

"I'm a meta." Thea said, shocking both Oliver and Laurel, since she hadn't known that either.

* * *

**Nice twist bringing meta Thea back huh? Her water powers are a call back to one of my earlier arrow fanfiction stories, Arrow Rewritten on **


	3. Chapter 3

"So, you're a meta now?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, I have no idea how though since I wasn't anywhere near Central City when the particle accelerator exploded." Thea said.

"Well maybe it has something to do with your extracurricular activities?" Oliver said.

"You mean my drug use?" Thea asked.

"I thought you were getting better before the memory restore?" Laurel asked her.

"I am, but maybe it was a result from when I was still using." Thea said and Laurel nodded.

"We'll figure it out. And in the meantime, maybe we should get the team together. Do you know if Cisco's memories have been restored?" Barry asked.

"You can always call Barry and ask him." Thea said.

"Yeah honestly, I'm trying to avoid talking to Barry or Kara for as long as I can." Oliver said.

"Why, I thought they'd be happy that you're alive?" Laurel asked.

"I'm only alive because I got very lucky. A year before crisis, I made a deal with Mar Novu to save Barry and Kara's lives at the cost of my own. Barry found out about it during the crisis and honestly, he was horrified that I traded my own life for his, even though it's a decision that I standby still. He and Kara were needed to help create this new world and that couldn't have happened if they'd died." Oliver said.

"Still, Barry is our metahuman expert and I'd like to know why I have powers now when I didn't before." Thea said.

"You're going to have to face them eventually Ollie. Better to do it on your own terms." Laurel said.

"I know. I'm just not looking forward to dealing with how ungrateful they're going to be." Oliver said.

"What about Sara? Are you planning on charging into Nanda Parbat and bringing her back over your shoulder?" Thea asked, changing the topic and Oliver chuckled.

"Sara can take care of herself, I honestly would not be surprised if she challenged Ra's for her freedom. We'll likely be seeing her within the next few weeks." Oliver said.

"Aren't you worried she'll lose?" Laurel asked.

"Sara has faced far worse than Ra's. If she can survive fighting an army of shadow demons at the dawn of time with nothing but her skills and her batons, I think she can handle herself." Oliver reminded her.

"Right sorry, it's just Ollie, I've lost her twice now. I can't lose her again." Laurel said.

"And you won't. And I'm gonna make sure that she and everyone else never have to worry about losing you again." Oliver said.

"Darhk." Thea said.

"I'm not making the same mistake I did before. Since I can still remember how to block his magic, the moment I get him in my sights, I'm going to put as many arrows into him as I have to make sure that he stays dead." Oliver said and Thea smiled, since she'd never seen Oliver this protective of Felicity, even after she'd been put in a wheelchair by Darhk.

"Please do. Now anyways, we should get back to dinner before your mom starts worrying or worse, listens in." Laurel said and Oliver and Thea nodded as they followed her back into the foyer where someone else had joined them.

"I told you man, Yachts suck." Tommy Merlyn said and Oliver smiled as he hugged his best friend and Laurel and Thea especially smiled at the reunion, since they were the only ones who knew just how much of a burden had been lifted from Oliver's shoulders seeing Tommy alive again.

"Tommy." Oliver said.

"I knew you were too stubborn to be dead." Tommy said with a smile.

"Now that all the guests are here, we can eat. I've made sure to have all your favorite meals, minus fish of course, prepared." Moira said and Oliver smiled.

"Great, I'm starving." Oliver said as they let Raisa lead them into the dining room.

* * *

"So Oliver, what are your plans now that you're back?" Walter asked.

"Actually Walter, I was hoping I could shadow you at QC for awhile so that I can learn everything I need to take over." Oliver said, much to everyone, especially Laurel and Thea's, surprise.

"Really, I didn't think you'd have much interest in the company." Moira said.

"It's what dad would've wanted me to do and honestly, I want to leave behind a better legacy than just one of a drunken playboy." Oliver said and Moira smiled.

"We'll start setting you up tomorrow. After your court appearance so we can have you legally resurrected." Moira said and Oliver smiled.

"Can't wait." Oliver said.

"For once he's gonna be in court and not be on trial. This I wouldn't miss for the world." Thea said.

"Really, I thought the first few times of me being in court would've been enough for you." Oliver said, giving his sister a hard time.

"I know if it were me, you'd be there." Thea said, since she genuinely felt guilty about missing Oliver's return before.

"I'm sure it'll be an emotional experience for us all." Moira said.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Laurel woke up and the first thing she realized was that she was not in her bed, or even in her apartment. Instead, she was lying in Oliver's bed in his room at the Queen Mansion, which was honestly not a place she ever thought she'd be again. In this reality or the old one. She thought that since Oliver had chosen Felicity over her before, he'd do it again. To her pleasant surprise, she was wrong. It turns out that the only reason Oliver had ever shown interest in Felicity is because she had told him that they couldn't be together because of Tommy. But now she knew that was a mistake. She'd known on her deathbed that Oliver Queen was her soulmate and this time, she intended to make sure he knew it, especially since he was now the man she'd always dreamed he could be and more. Now he was a hero, the protector of Star City. And now that she thought about it, it was because of that that she was able to become the person that she was meant to be. The Black Canary.

Anyways, the next thing she realized was that she was alone, which for a second made her think that she'd been wrong, only to have Oliver walk into the room, dressed in running clothes and all sweaty and she sighed in relief to realize that he'd just gone for a run.

"I thought that you'd want to sleep in after having such an exhausting experience." Laurel said with a smile as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"Still an early riser I guess." Oliver said and Laurel smiled as she kissed him.

"I'm glad I get to do that again. Even if you are sweaty and disgusting." Laurel said.

"And you have some of the worst morning breath I've ever smelt." Oliver countered and Laurel smiled.

"Well, I think there is a way we can solve both of those problems at once." Laurel said with a smile that Oliver easily interpreted.

"I'll get the shower going while you brush your teeth." Oliver said and Laurel smiled as she smacked his shoulder before he headed towards the bathroom and she quickly followed him, grateful that she'd brought clothes for today with her, since she'd suspected that she'd be spending the night if Oliver had reciprocated her feelings and he had.

* * *

Moira smiled when she saw Laurel come downstairs with her son.

"Laurel, I'm glad to see you were quick to make yourself at home here again." Moira said and Laurel smiled.

"I'm glad that you're okay with me staying over for breakfast." Laurel said, not even pretending that she hadn't spent the night, since she knew Moira wouldn't buy it.

"You're the only girl I've ever approved of Oliver dating, so of course I don't mind, especially since you didn't insult my intelligence by trying to pretend you didn't spend the night." Moira said and Laurel smiled.

"So, when's my next court date?" Oliver asked.

"It's weird to hear that when he's not in a holding cell." Thea said as she joined them.

"Tell me about it." Laurel agreed.

"Anyways, your court date is next week. I couldn't get you one any sooner." Moira said.

"That's fine. It gives me some time to start looking for my own place." Oliver said.

"Really?" Moira asked.

"Mom, I love you, but I want my independence." Oliver said.

"Are you sure?" Moira asked and Oliver, Laurel and Thea all knew what she was worried about.

"Maybe we could get Oliver a bodyguard so that you're not worried about him as much." Thea suggested.

"Not a bad idea." Oliver admitted, since he already knew who he wanted to be his bodyguard to be.

"Okay, I guess I can agree to that." Moira said.

"I can help you start looking for places. I mean, I figure I'm gonna be stopping by several times, so I might as well make sure it's a place i like to." Laurel said and Oliver smiled and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I'll take any help I can get. Then maybe after the hearing, we can start talking about my role at Queen Consolidated?" Oliver asked and Moira nodded.

"We'll take it slow. One step at a time." Moira said and Oliver nodded.

* * *

The next day, Oliver was reunited with another familiar face from his past.

"Oliver, this is your new bodyguard, John Diggle." Moira said and Oliver actually smiled and he could tell that John was in a similar state.

"Can I call you Dig? It sounds catchier." Oliver said and John smiled.

"Of course sir." John said.

"It's Oliver." Oliver reminded him.

"Oliver it is." John agreed.

"Anyways, I have to meet Laurel for an apartment viewing, so can we get going?" Oliver asked and John nodded.

"After you." John said as he followed Oliver out of the mansion and got into the car.

"Glad you got my call." Oliver said as they drove away from the mansion.

"Just be glad our numbers are still the same as they were before. Thanks for the tip man." John said.

"Needed to see my brother again." Oliver said and John smiled in the rearview mirror.

"So, should I call in the rest of the team to meet us at our destination?" John asked.

"No, Thea's in school right now and I'd like to keep her on a better path than she was on before at this point. Tell them to meet us at the building over the bunker tonight, since I need Felicity to start working the plans for it, since after my legal resurrection, I'm to Central City to have a talk with Barry and if Cisco's had his memories restored, then he can help Felicity build the bunker." Oliver said and John nodded.

"Speaking of Felicity, how exactly are you going to tell her about you and Laurel?" John asked.

"You think I'm making a mistake choosing Laurel over Felicity don't you?" Oliver asked.

"No man. I think that we both know that you really just used Felicity to distract yourself from your feelings for Laurel and she deserves more than that. And while I will admit that I was rooting for you guys, I could tell that you have always held Laurel in a higher regard than you did Felicity. Probably why you two always had such a problematic relationship." John said.

"I am gonna talk to her about that, I just hope she understands, since honestly, I think our marriage was never like what you and Lyla had or Barry and Iris had." Oliver said.

"Good luck with that man." John said.

"Thanks. And also John, you should know that I don't blame you for what happened during Crisis." Oliver said.

"Oliver, even if I couldn't save you, I still should've been there with you in the end." John said.

"You risked everything to try and save me John. That counts for something." Oliver said.

"And this time, try to stay alive. I said to you before when we were on Earth Two, but I'll say it again, this world needs you Oliver Queen. It's a better and brighter place with you in it." John said and Oliver smiled as they pulled up to what was actually Oliver's old loft building.

"You're getting sappy on me Diggle. Come on, let's go meet Laurel inside so you can clear you conscience with her." Oliver said and John nodded as they got out of the car and headed inside.


	5. Chapter 5

When Oliver and John arrived at the apartment building, they found Laurel waiting outside for them.

"Laurel, this is my new bodyguard, John Diggle." Oliver said.

"I wouldn't exactly call him new when he's been watching your back for 8 years now." Laurel said with a smile as she hugged John, who hugged her back.

"It's good to see you." John said.

"You too." Laurel said.

"Laurel, I'm so sorry." John said, only to have Laurel stop him.

"It wasn't your fault. You're not the first person to make the mistake of trusting the wrong person. And besides, I'm alive now, which is all that matters in the end." Laurel said.

"How is it that you always seem to see the good in everyone?" John asked with a smile.

"I'm starting to think that Sara and I are opposites. She tends to see the worst in people, I prefer to see the good in them." Laurel said.

"Speaking of, have either of you heard anything from Sara?" John asked.

"Well I know she's alive and she remembers, since she was a paragon, but I'm not sure where she is. If I had to guess though, she's likely either working to get her freedom from the League or trying to kill Darhk. Probably both." Oliver said and Laurel sighed.

"I just hope that she doesn't get herself killed." Laurel said.

"Laurel, Sara has faced far worse than Damien Darhk. She'll be fine. In fact, I almost feel sorry for Darhk for what she's going to do to him when she finds him." Oliver said.

"Bastard deserves it." John agreed.

"Anyways, I believe that we are here to do some apartment hunting, so let's get to it." Laurel said as she headed inside the building, Oliver and John following her in.

* * *

"Huh, different building than you had before." John said as they entered the elevator.

"New earth, new apartment. Especially since my old place has memories of a different relationship." Oliver said and John nodded.

"I'm really hoping that Felicity doesn't freak out when she finds out that you chose me over her." Laurel said.

"I'll deal with that particular challenge when I have to." Oliver said and Laurel nodded as they exited the elevator to find the real estate agent waiting for them.

"Mr. Queen, my name Tanya Hughes and I am very happy to see that you are considering buying this penthouse." the realtor said.

"I have to admit, when I heard about this place, I was expecting it to be a bit more done." Laurel said, since it looked like the penthouse was still under construction.

"You'll have to remember that this whole building is relatively new." the realtor said.

"It's fine. The way I see it, it means that I can make some extra changes to it. How long will it be before this place is ready to move into?" Oliver asked.

"About two weeks, but it could be longer depending on any additional renovations you want to make." Tanya said and Oliver nodded.

"Why don't you show us around. Tell me more about this place so I can determine if it's worth paying the price the owner is insisting upon." Oliver said and Tanya nodded as she led them through the apartment.

"Well, this penthouse includes two floors and a private elevator that only opens in this apartment and the lobby. As you can see, it has a large, state of the art kitchen, which opens up directly into the living room, which is large enough that you can furnish it, probably any way you like, a nice dining room that you can use whenever you're entertaining company, 2 half bathrooms, a laundry room and three additional rooms, one of which you use as an office space." Tanya said.

"And another could be a playroom for kids if we have them." Laurel said, since while she wasn't planning on moving into this penthouse yet, since she was pretty sure that Oliver was going to end buying it considering how nice it was, she had a feeling she would be eventually, so she wanted to make sure that she liked it too.

"Of course. As you can also see, this living room also opens up to a large balcony that you can set up a grill and table and have yourself a nice barbecue in the summer." Tanya said and Oliver smiled.

"So far so good. What about upstairs?" Oliver asked.

"Follow me." Tanya said as she led them upstairs.

"There are 5 bedrooms here, counting the master bedroom. The master bedroom includes a walk in closet and a full bathroom. Each bedroom also has its own bathroom, so that should help cut down on any lines or fights that could occur in the future." Tanya said.

"What does this apartment offer in terms of safety?" Oliver asked.

"That is actually why the penthouse is still under renovation, since we are in the process of adding a safe room to it, so that way if there is a break in, you can get your family to safety." Tanya said.

"This sounds like a great place." John said, since while he wouldn't be living here, he could tell that this place would be perfect for Oliver, since he could turn the safe room into an armory or something.

"Well, I'll have to talk with a few people, but so far I'm liking what I'm seeing, so expect an offer within the next few days." Oliver said.

"Thank you Mr. Queen." Tanya said, clearly bummed that he wasn't making an offer now, but happy that it sounded like she'd be getting an offer soon.

* * *

"That penthouse looked good." John said.

"Yeah, I mean, honestly, I was very tempted to make an offer on the spot, but I didn't want to make it seem like I was too eager." Oliver said.

"Smart move." Laurel said.

"I've learned a few things." Oliver said as they entered the lobby.

"I'm gonna go pull the car around." John said as he walked towards the garage.

"So, you certainly seemed interested in that penthouse too." Oliver said to Laurel as they walked outside to wait for the car.

"Well, while I don't think we're at the point to move in together quite yet, we will be someday and I wanted to make sure that it was a place I liked. And I do." Laurel said, right as both she and Oliver felt something prick their necks.

"Seriously, again." Oliver groaned as they both passed out.

* * *

When Oliver came to, he found himself and Laurel tied to chairs as three idiots approached them.

"Mr. Queen, we have some questions for you. And the life of both yourself and your girlfriend here depend on how you answer them." the leader said.

"Go to hell." Oliver spat out as Laurel came to.

"Good damn it." Laurel said as the thug punched him.

"Maybe you should show some respect, or else we start hitting your girlfriend." another thug said.

"Don't you dare touch her." Oliver said.

"Then you'll answer our questions." the leader said.

"What's the point, you're gonna have to kill us when this is over right?" Laurel asked.

"She's gotta point." the third thug said and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Not if you die first." Oliver said.

"Oh really, how exactly is that going to happen?" the lead thug asked.

"Because I'm gonna kill you." Oliver said as he freed himself and quickly snapped the lead thug's neck.

"A little help?" Laurel asked, right as another thug aimed his gun at her.

Oliver ran towards Laurel, since they'd been tied at opposite ends of the warehouse, but before he made it, Laurel acted on instinct and unleashed a sonic cry sending the thug flying back towards Oliver, how quickly grabbed the gun and shot him before using the gun to shoot the other thug before freeing Laurel.

"How did you do that?" Oliver asked.

"I was visiting my mom in Central City when the accelerator blew. I didn't think it affected me until now." Laurel said.

"We'll figure it out later. I put a tracker in my shoe for this exact occasion, John knows how to track it, so he should be here any minute." Oliver said as he freed her.

"Have to admit, this went by a lot shorter than I thought it would." Laurel said.

"This time I didn't have to worry about keeping my cover, not to mention, I'm more experienced this time around." Oliver said.

"Thank god for that." Laurel said.

"You okay?" Oliver asked.

"I'll be fine. Not the first time I've been kidnapped remember." Laurel reminded him.

"Just making sure." Oliver said.

"And I love you for it." Laurel said as they shared a brief kiss before they began looking for a way out to help John find them.


	6. Chapter 6

Oliver and Laurel were now sitting in the parlor of the Queen Mansion while John was getting berated by Moira for letting them get abducted while Quentin and Hilton were interviewing them.

"And you don't have any ideas on why these people would want to abduct you?" Hilton asked as he sat across from them while Quentin just paced angrily, causing both Oliver and Laurel to be waiting for him to just explode, since Quentin was bound to put it together that they were dating again and Laurel had honestly wanted to wait until Sara came back to tell him.

"They asked if my father made it to the island with me. I guess they were hoping that maybe, he had some secret bank accounts or anything he told me before he died." Oliver said.

"And did he?" Quentin snapped.

"I'm not sure how that's relevant to this case." Laurel snapped back, making it clear that she was not in the mood to put up with her father and his vendetta right now.

"No, my father did not make it to the island with me. But he did make it to the life raft." Oliver said.

"Then how come he didn't make it to the island?" Quentin demanded.

"Because he shot himself in the head right in front of me in order to make sure that there was enough food and water for me to survive. His body is still where I buried it on Lian Yu. If you don't believe me, feel free to go and check." Oliver said, taking them aback.

"No, that won't be necessary. But anyways, your story is that a man in a green hood and a woman in black leather jumped in and saved you, even though there were no signs of forced entry. Just three corpses." Hilton said.

"I don't know how they got in or out, my head is still a little dizzy from getting beaten on." Oliver said.

"Did they touch you?" Quentin asked Laurel.

"No, I'm fine. Physically anyways." Laurel said.

"I'm speaking to Mr. Diggle about potentially having someone from his company shadow Laurel until you find out who's behind this." Moira offered and Quentin nodded at her gratefully.

"That's not necessary, I'm pretty sure the only reason they took Laurel is because she was with me at the time. I was the target, she just got caught in the middle." Oliver said.

"Funny how that happens. I guess getting one of my daughters killed wasn't enough for you, you had to go and try to get the other killed too." Quentin said and Oliver's head snapped up.

"At least you don't have to see Sara die every night when you close your eyes. I do. I blame myself enough for what happened without you piling more on, Detective." Oliver said in an ice cold voice that took Quentin aback.

"I think we've gotten everything we need." Hilton said, quickly trying to play peacemaker, since he knew the kind of influence the Queens had in Star City and if Quentin wasn't careful, he was likely to lose his badge.

"I think that's a good idea. We'll call you if there's anything else." Moira said as she moved to show them out.

"Laurel, are you coming?" Quentin asked.

"No, I'm not really in the mood to listen to you go on and on about how the Queens ruined your life and how they'll do the same to mine if I don't stop spending time with Oliver." Laurel said, since while she knew she was being rude, she also knew that she would not allow her father to keep berating her for making her own choices and for antagonizing Oliver for something they both knew was not his fault.

"Laurel is welcome here anytime, Detective. However, I think that as of right now, you should only be up here for work related reasons." Moira saidcoldly and Quentin had enough sense to know that he'd overstayed his welcome in this house and walked out.

"Are you okay?" Moira now asked them both.

"Yeah we're fine. And mom, it wasn't Dig's fault, he was pulling the car around, we didn't think anyone would try anything this soon after I came back." Oliver said and Moira nodded.

"I know. But Oliver, I lost you once already. I can't go through that again." Moira said.

"And you won't." Oliver promised.

"So, how did the apartment hunting go?" Moira asked, eager to change the subject.

"I found a really penthouse in the city. It won't be ready for a few weeks, especially since I want to make a few changes, but it's got a ton of great amenities, it even has a safe room built in in case of a break in." Oliver said Moira smiled as Laurel showed her pictures of it.

"Well, I think you've found a great place. I guess I was just hoping that it would take you longer to find something you liked." Moira said.

"Mom, this place is perfect and I want to get it." Oliver said.

"Okay. I'll go with you tomorrow to sign the paperwork." Moira said.

"Great." Oliver said.

* * *

That night, Oliver, Laurel and John entered the building that had once been Oliver's campaign office to find that they were not alone.

"Wow, can't remember the last time we were all under the same roof." Felicity said awkwardly, since she, Roy and Thea had been waiting for them.

"It's good to see you Felicity." Oliver said.

"But not as good as it could be if the fact that Laurel rode in the car with you." Felicity said stiffly and Oliver sighed.

"Can you guys give us a minute?" Oliver asked.

"Absolutely." Thea said, eager to avoid this trainwreck as she walked out of the room, Roy, Laurel and John following her.

"So, this is awkward." Felicity said.

"Yeah. I take it from your response that you've guessed that Laurel and I are back together and you'd like an explanation." Oliver said.

"I think I'm owed one considering we were married and had a daughter together Oliver." Felicity reminded him.

"I know. And I meant every word I said to you then Felicity, but let's face it, our marriage was never as strong as it should've been. It felt like no matter how much we cared about each other, we'd always end up heading in separate directions." Oliver said.

"Because while you may have loved me, it was never the way you loved her." Felicity said.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver, I'm not blind. You refused to kill Darhk even after he put me in a wheelchair. But the moment he killed Laurel, you were preparing to string him up the first chance you got. I was never going to be anything more than second to her was I?" Felicity asked and Oliver sighed.

"No, you weren't. I tried to fight it, but Laurel will always be the love of my life and I think that's why I kept things from you, made moves that put our relationship in jeopardy." Oliver said.

"Because I wasn't Laurel Lance. Makes sense. I just wish that you'd told me before we got married." Felicity said.

"I didn't realize it until I saw our Laurel again on this earth. But I was never trying to hurt you. I can't help how I feel." Oliver said.

"I know. And honestly, I think it's better if we stay friends, since I can remember several times when us being together ended up compromising things in the field. Besides, we both deserve to be with other people we truly love and while you've found that with Laurel, I need to find it for myself. Find someone who loves me for me as their first choice." Felicity said.

"I agree." Oliver said.

"So, should we tell them it's safe to come in now?" Felicity asked.

"Are you kidding, Thea's probably been eavesdropping." Oliver said as the others re-entered the room.

"So, you two are good?" Laurel asked.

"Yes and Laurel, I promise I will not try to steal him from you." Felicity said.

"Great." Laurel said as Oliver finally turned his attention to Roy.

"It's good to see you Roy." Oliver said.

"Good to be back. Especially with both my arms and without a bloodlust." Roy said and Oliver chuckled.

"Okay then. So, I guess this is the first Team Arrow meeting of this new world." Oliver said.

"What about Dinah, Curtis and Rene?" John asked.

"Their memories weren't restored and frankly, we don't need Dinah or Curtis anymore. Rene on the other hand, well, that might come after we get this team up and running and by that I mean, with the bunker and everything." Oliver said, since honestly, while he didn't think there was any need for Dinah or Curtis, he did think Rene would make a good addition to the team, since honestly, Rene was the one of his recruits who reminded him the most of himself.

"Sounds good. I will begin working on plans for the bunker and once I know if Cisco has had his memories restored, I'll reach out to him." Felicity said.

"I'm heading to Central City after my legal resurrection next week to talk to him about exactly that and also I owe Barry a conversation. Laurel and Thea are going to be coming with me." Oliver said.

"Why?" Roy asked.

"We're both metas." Laurel said.

"Really, that's new." Felicity said.

"Tell me about it." Thea said.

"What are your powers?" John asked.

"Laurel has Black Siren's powers." Oliver said.

"That could come in handy. And you Thea?" Roy asked.

"I can control water. I don't know how I got these powers though since I wasn't in Central City when the accelerator blew." Thea said.

"I was though." Laurel said.

"I'm hoping that Caitlin can help determine how Thea got her powers and Team Flash can help Laurel learn to control hers." Oliver said and they nodded.

"Sounds like we've got a plan." Felicity said and they all nodded as they all agreed that Team Arrow was back in business.


	7. Chapter 7

The following week found Oliver once again standing in a courtroom, but unlike the last time he'd been in one, this time he was not on trial. He was simply giving his statement so that the courts could deem him alive.

"Mr. Queen, could you please inform the courts of what happened?" the lawyer asked and Oliver nodded.

"I'll never forget that day. After the Gambit went down, I dove into the water, trying to save Sara Lance. But then, before I could drown, my father pulled me into a life raft alongside himself and his bodyguard Dave Hackett. We drifted for days, but when my father realized that there was only enough food and water for maybe one person, he shot Hackett and then told me to survive before shooting himself in the head right in front of me." Oliver said, it being incredibly hard for him to admit, but he knew he needed to do so.

"Thank you Mr. Queen." the lawyer said as everyone tried to avoid showing the shock they felt at hearing what had happened.

"Your honor, we are filing to revoke the death certificate for Oliver Queen. However, as Mr. Queen just stated, we will not be filing to revoke the death certificate for Robert Queen. It appears that the Queen family is only entitled to one miracle I'm afraid." the lawyer said and Oliver took a deep breath, though he was happy that he'd gotten that off his chest early on.

* * *

"That couldn't have been easy telling everyone about your dad." John said to Oliver as they got in the car.

"The truth had to come out. Remember what happened when I kept this secret before?" Oliver asked.

"Of course. But considering what else was going on when that happened, I have to ask, what exactly are you planning to do when Emiko comes to town." John asked.

"I talked to J'onn about sending me some tech to restore other people's memories without his assistance and I plan on using it on her. To remind her that Dante had her mother killed and that the Ninth Circle betrayed her. She needs to remember who her real family is." Oliver said.

"Still, what happens if she doesn't want to join the team?" John asked.

"Then I'll deal with it. But I have faith that if she remembers the truth, then she'll do the right thing." Oliver said.

"I hope so, man." John said.

"Anyways, now that I'm legally alive again, it's time to pay a visit to Central City. I owe Barry a conversation and I'm hoping that Caitlin can help figure how Thea got her powers, plus, since I know Cisco is going to want to make all our suits and while he has measurements for your suit, my suit and Roy's, I want him to be able to make suits for Thea and Laurel to work with their powers." Oliver said and John nodded.

"Got it." John said.

* * *

Thea was on her way home from school when she heard someone walk up behind her.

"You know, it's not safe to walk home alone from school. Especially since you can afford a limo." Roy said with a smile as she turned to face him.

"Well, considering the fact that I can drown anyone who attacks me at will, I think I'll be fine." Thea said and Roy could tell that she was very tempted to attack him, not that he could blame her.

"Okay before you kill me, will you hear me out?" Roy asked and Thea nodded.

"Talk quickly." Thea said.

"Look, when I left, I thought for sure that I was doing the right thing. That I was protecting you from the monster that had taken me over." Roy said.

"You seem to forget that no one understood that bloodlust monster better than me." Thea said.

"I know. But it was about more than just trying to keep you safe. I needed to find a way to deal with the bloodlust before I could commit myself to you. And yeah, I know that just sounds like an excuse, but Thea, I really am sorry. And I know I don't deserve another chance, but I am asking you for one." Roy said and Thea smiled.

"Lucky for you, I do understand what you were going through. As long as you promise not to freak out and ditch me again, then yes, I will give you one more chance." Thea said and Roy smiled as they kissed.

However, the moment they pulled away, Roy could tell something was wrong with Thea, since she began to get dizzy and passed out in his arms.

"Thea? Thea wake up." Roy said as he tried to shake her awake, but with no luck.

He quickly pulled out his phone and called Oliver.

"Oliver, you need to get here quickly. Something's wrong with Thea, she just passed out in front of me." Roy said.

"Where are you, I'll be there as fast as I can." Oliver said as Roy gave him the location before hanging up and resumed doing everything he could to keep Thea alive and try to get her to regain consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

Thea was quickly admitted to Star City General after she passed out and now she was lying in a hospital bed with her family surrounding her.

"Thea, how are you feeling?" Moira asked her daughter.

"Like my entire body is on fire. What's happening to me?" Thea asked.

"The doctors are trying to figure that out right now sweetheart." Moira said.

"We'll figure out what's happening to you Thea. I promise." Oliver said as Dr. Schwartz walked into the room.

"Well?" Oliver asked.

"It appears that something is causing Thea's cells to deteriorate." Dr. Schwartz said.

"What, how is that possible?" Oliver asked.

"We don't know, but we're trying to get to the bottom of it." Dr. Schwartz said.

"Is it possible that it could be the result of substance abuse?" Oliver asked, since everyone in that room knew that Thea had a history of drug using.

"It's possible. Though from what I've heard, Thea's been clean for a year, unless there's something you haven't been telling us." Dr. Schwartz said as all eyes turned to Thea.

"No, I am clean, but maybe it's a delayed effect." Thea said and Moira nodded.

"We'll keep working on it." Dr. Schwartz said.

"Uh Dr. Schwartz, is there any chance I can get a copy of Thea's blood work?" Oliver asked.

"Why?" Dr. Schwartz asked.

"I have a friend in Central City who might be able to help out with not only what's wrong with Thea, but also find a cure for what's wrong with her." Oliver said.

"Since Thea is under 18, we'd need consent from her legal guardian." Dr. Schwartz said as all eyes turned to Moira and Walter.

"Absolutely. Also provide one to us so Queen Consolidated's biochem division can study this as well." Moira said and Dr. Schwartz nodded.

"Uh, can I have a moment alone with Ollie?" Thea asked and they all nodded as they left the two siblings alone.

"So, you think Caitlin can help me?" Thea asked.

"I think that since your powers are likely a cause of this, that yes she can. She's the best metahuman biochemist we've ever met." Oliver said and Thea nodded.

"I wish I could go with you, since I really wanted to get measured for my Cisco made suit." Thea complained and Oliver smiled.

"I'll give him the measurements he needs and also tell him about your powers. I'm sure you'll like whatever he comes up with." Oliver said and Thea nodded her agreement since she couldn't argue with that, since Cisco had yet to find an unhappy customer.

"I gotta get going." Oliver said and Thea nodded as she tried to get comfortable, despite how much pain she was in.

"Don't worry we'll figure out what's going on and help you." Oliver said and Thea nodded.

"I hope so. But while you're in Central City, please get your suit. Star City needs the Green Arrow." Thea said and Oliver smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind." Oliver said as he headed out.

* * *

A few days later, Oliver, Laurel, John and Felicity arrived in Central City, since John was Oliver's head of security and Felicity wanted to talk to Cisco about plans for the bunker.

They were getting settled into their hotel room, since Oliver had rented out a penthouse hotel suite in Central City for all four of them to stay in, when there was a knock on the door and John moved to answer it and after checking through the peephole, he opened the door to reveal Cisco and Caitlin waiting for them.

"Nice digs." Cisco said with a smile as he pulled a cart with several cases in with him.

"Is that?" Oliver asked.

"Your's, Dig's and Roy's suits. Like you requested over the phone, I have not started working on Laurel and Thea's yet. Where is Thea by the way?" Cisco asked, since he didn't see the younger Queen sibling anywhere.

"That's why I asked Caitlin to come here too. One new change about this reality is that Thea has powers now." Oliver said.

"Really, what kind?" Caitlin asked.

"Water based powers. But they're not from the accelerator and right now she's in the hospital due to what the doctors are calling cellular deterioration and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with her powers." Oliver said as he handed Caitlin as vial of blood and thumb drive.

"I'm assuming that this is a sample of Thea's blood?" Caitlin asked and Oliver nodded.

"And the drive is a copy of Thea's bloodwork." Oliver said.

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I'd recommend putting her in some form of stasis to freeze the progression of the degeneration until I can find a way to stabilize her and with Thawne still in play, that will take time. Though now that he has two speedsters to use instead of one, that should allow him to speed up his plans." Caitlin said.

"Wait, two?" John asked.

"Barry can bring you up to speed on everything, but one other thing that's changed is that now he has a sister." Cisco said.

"And I'm guessing she's speedster number two." Oliver said and Cisco nodded.

"Yep. Though we knew her in the old multiverse as Jesse Wells, the daughter of Earth Two's Harrison Wells." Cisco said.

"Speaking of Earth Two, the reason I told you to hold off on Laurel's suit is because she now has the powers of her earth two counterpart." Oliver said and Cisco nodded.

"Got it. We can go to an old Star Labs airfield to do testing for your suit. It's where we did a lot of Barry's testing before we built the speed lab." Cisco said.

"Speaking of Barry, where is he? I owe him a talk?" Oliver asked.

"Check CCPD." Caitlin said and Oliver nodded.

"I'll be back soon. Cisco, why don't you and Felicity start working on plans for the Bunker." Oliver said and Cisco and Felicity nodded as he walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

On his way to CCPD, Oliver decided to call his mom to get an update on Thea.

"Oliver, how's Central City?" Moira asked.

"It's good. I talked to my friend about Thea." Oliver said.

"What did she say?" Moira asked.

"She's gonna start working on a cure as soon as she can. In the meantime, she advised that we put Thea into some kind of hibernation to freeze the progression of her sickness to give us more time to find a cure." Oliver said.

"Queen Consolidated has been experimenting with suspended animation technology for space travel. I'm sure it could be repurposed for this." Moira said.

"Has it been tested?" Oliver asked.

"Several times. Granted, it's never been used for indefinite storage or for this purpose, but the life support systems should work." Moira said.

"Let's hope we won't need to keep her in there for long. But mom, you can't just force Thea into a pod. It has to be her choice." Oliver said, since while he wanted to save his sister's life, he wouldn't imprison her against her will.

"I will talk to her, try to convince her to do it, since I won't force her into the pod, but I hope she will agree to it, if only to spare us from the pain of losing another child." Moira said.

"I'll be back soon to help convince her if I need to." Oliver said.

"Be safe Oliver." Moira said as she hung up and he arrived at CCPD.

* * *

When Oliver entered the precinct, he almost immediately ran into Joe.

"I didn't know you were in town." Joe said.

"I'm not here to cause any problems." Oliver said, knowing Joe's view of him.

"Look, I owe you an apology. Barry told me about what you did. About all the things you've done. I was wrong. You're not a criminal. You're one of the bravest men I've ever met. I understand now why Barry holds you in such a high esteem." Joe said as he held out his hand, which Oliver shook.

"Speaking of Barry, Cisco told me he was here?" Oliver asked.

"In his lab." Joe said and Oliver nodded.

"Thanks." Oliver said as he up there.

* * *

Oliver smiled when he entered the lab to find Barry hard at work.

"Feel like taking a break Flash?" Oliver asked with a smile as Barry looked up and grinned widely at him.

"You know I'm gonna hug you now right?" Barry said and Oliver smiled.

"I'll let it go this once considering the circumstances of the last time we saw each other." Oliver said.

"You mean when Sara and I were kneeling over your dying body at the dawn of time?" Barry asked and Oliver nodded as Barry walked up and hugged him.

"It's good to see you alive man." Barry said.

"Thanks. Now, I believe I owe you a conversation." Oliver said and Barry nodded as he then proceeded to slug Oliver.

"Damn." Oliver said as he rubbed his jaw.

"I'm surprised you weren't expecting that." Barry said.

"I let you have that one." Oliver said.

"Sure you did. But anyways, Oliver, I'm not mad about the choice you made, we both know I would've made the same call as you did. I am mad that you didn't tell me about your deal sooner." Barry said.

"I knew that if you knew about it, that you'd try to save me and honestly, I didn't want you to. Not only would that renege on the deal I made, but also, I was honestly tired of fighting my fate. Honestly, knowing that my journey was reaching its end, it was kind of a relief, knowing that I'd finally be able to find peace. Not that I'm not grateful to be alive." Oliver said and Barry nodded.

"I guess I can understand that, but Oliver, you were wrong when you said that you weren't the best of us." Barry said.

"Barry, you and Kara are the best of us. You represent hope, something I could never do." Oliver said.

"Maybe, but Oliver, you inspired a generation of heroes. Me, Spartan, Arsenal, White Canary, Black Canary, all of us, we wouldn't be heroes without the Green Arrow. We wouldn't be heroes without you." Barry said.

"Barry." Oliver began.

"No Oliver, it's true. You've always been the mentor we could turn to when we needed it. The world needs the Green Arrow. It needs you." Barry said and Oliver smiled.

"Maybe. But I am still standing by what I did. There can always be another Green Arrow, but there can't be another Flash or another Supergirl." Oliver said.

"There may be other people who can wear your hood Oliver, but that doesn't mean they should. You are the true Green Arrow. And right now, Star City needs you. Now more than ever." Barry said.

"And Central City needs the Flash. Maybe you can catch me up on why you haven't followed in Kara and Kate's footsteps?" Oliver asked.

"Because until yesterday I wasn't sure how much longer I'd have my powers." Barry said.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Do you remember when I forced you to give me your Spectre energy at the vanishing point?" Barry asked.

"Of course." Oliver said.

"Well, it turns out when you did, while it gave me the energy boost I needed, your energy also destabilized the speed force, killing it." Barry said.

"I'm sorry Barry." Oliver said, feeling guilty.

"Don't do that to yourself man. You warned me that it would be dangerous, but I ignored you. But it doesn't matter anyways, since I tricked Thawne into creating a new one. Long story." Barry said.

"Well, I've got some time, since Cisco and Felicity are likely still geeking out over the bunker designs." Oliver said and Barry nodded as they continued talking.


	10. Chapter 10

"So, how was your trip to Central City?" Moira asked Oliver when they met at the hospital, since they'd decided to wait until they were both present to bring up the idea of putting Thea into the cryo chamber until they could find a cure for her so that they could both convince her to do it.

"Very productive. My friend Caitlin Snow is very eager to work on a cure for Thea and in the meantime, I've been put in touch with someone else who'd prefer to remain anonymous, but they may have an idea for a temporary solution to Thea's current problem until we're able to find a permanent one." Oliver said.

"If it will help Thea, then absolutely. Tell both of them that I will personally pay them however much they want to save her." Moira said.

"I've already handled the debt to the person with the temporary cure. As for Dr. Snow, I'll give you her number, but I think I know a way we can repay her." Oliver said.

"How?" Moira asked.

"Dr. Snow is one of the few scientists left at Star Labs. I'm sure if Queen Consolidated bought the company and helped rebuild it, she'd have access to better funding and equipment to help find a cure for Thea even faster." Oliver said.

"Oliver, I'm not sure that is a good business strategy. Star Labs is still dealing with the fallout from the explosion and I'm not sure that buying it would be considered a smart idea for Queen Consolidated." Moira said.

"Really, I think that Queen Consolidated could afford to buy Star Labs for a very low price and then get good PR for rebuilding the company. Plus, it is still a top notch research facility." Oliver said.

"But there's also government restrictions on them. However, I will talk to Dr. Snow and see if there's anything that can be done to help her company rebuild, since even if QC can't buy it, maybe we can help them reopen themselves." Moira said and Oliver nodded.

"Anyway, let's go talk to Thea. I waited till you got back to tell her about this idea, since I figured that it would take both of us to convince her to do this." Moira said and Oliver nodded in agreement as they entered Thea's hospital room.

"Hey Speedy, how are you feeling?" Oliver asked.

"As crappy as I did before you left." Thea said.

"Thea, your brother and I may have an idea on how to buy you more time until we find a cure." Moira said.

"What is it?" Thea asked.

"We'd have to put you in a stasis pod." Oliver said.

"You want to put me on ice?" Thea asked.

"Of course not. But it may be the only way to save you. Putting you in that pod will slow the progress of the deterioration and it may not even need to be that long." Oliver said.

"What do you mean?" Thea asked.

"I've got a lead on a potential serum that could temporarily stabilize your cells until we can find a permanent cure." Oliver said.

"So essentially, I'd be dependent on taking a drug. I thought we were trying to get me off those?" Thea said dryly.

"This is different. This is something that can actually save your life." Moira said.

"Are you sure that this is the only way?" Thea asked.

"For now Speedy." Oliver said.

"How long will it be before I have to go in?" Thea asked.

"Queen Consolidated is running tests on our only stasis pod, but it should be ready by the end of the week." Moira said.

"Then I'd really like to not spend the rest of my week in the world in a hospital bed. Is there any way I can spread my legs and try to live my life before you shove me in a freezer?" Thea asked.

"I'll make some calls, see if we can at least get you transferred back home so you can enjoy the comforts of the mansion." Moira said.

"And you'll be out of the pod before you know it, even if you will become dependent on the serum for a while." Oliver said.

"At least with that serum, I'll be able to live my life again instead of having to put it on pause." Thea said.

"Thea, I promise you, we will not stop looking until we find a cure for you." Moira promised.

"Thanks mom." Thea said.

"Get some rest Speedy. We'll be back soon." Oliver said as both he and Moira placed kisses on Thea's forehead before leaving her to rest.


	11. Chapter 11

Today was the day Thea was dreading. The day she went into the cryogenic pod to slow down the progression of whatever it was that was killing her.

"Do I really have to do this?" Thea whined.

"Yes Thea. We don't like it anymore than you do, but this will keep you alive and that is our priority." Moira said.

"But." Thea said, only to have Oliver stop her.

"Speedy, we are working on getting you help, but for right now, this is the only option." Oliver said and Thea nodded.

"Promise you'll come and visit me? Even wake me up for it?" Thea asked as Oliver turned to Moira and Walter, both of them nodding.

"Everyday. But I promise, you won't need to be in here for long. We will find a way to stabilize you." Oliver said.

"I hope so." Thea said.

"Thea, it's time." Walter said and Thea nodded, knowing that she couldn't argue about it anymore, she was going into the pod, whether she wanted to or not and in this case, she knew she needed to in order to keep her alive before she allowed her brother to lead her to the car that would take them to Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences division where the pod was waiting.

* * *

When they arrived, Oliver was surprised to find Felicity there.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked and Felicity wasn't hurt or surprised, since she hadn't had a chance to tell him about her new job yet.

"Oliver, this is Dr. Felicity Smoak, the head of our Applied Sciences division and the inventor of the pod that will be keeping Thea alive." Walter said and Oliver looked at Felicity in surprise, though he was glad that her talents were being better utilized in this reality than they had been before.

"I promise you Mr. Queen, I have been working around the clock to make sure that this pod is safe and it will keep your sister alive." Felicity said.

"Please, call me Oliver. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of each other, since I plan on visiting Thea every day until she's able to get out of the pod." Oliver said and Felicity nodded.

"Is everything ready?" Moira asked.

"Yes Mrs. Queen. The only thing we are waiting on is the patient." Felicity said.

"What exactly is going to happen?" Thea asked.

"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. After we place you in the pod, we'll be putting you in a medically induced coma so that way you won't feel a thing once you're frozen. We've found that we've had the best success if the patient is already asleep when we put them in hibernation." Felicity assured her and Thea nodded, since she trusted Felicity and her work with her life and this time, she really would be.

"How do we know that the facility won't run out of power while she's inside?" Oliver asked.

"The pod runs on 5 different generators that your parents had installed for specifically this purpose and we've got another five waiting as backup in case something happens. We're prepared for every possible scenario and we are continuing to come up with solutions for what we could not have accounted for. I promise, she will be okay." Felicity assured them.

"Okay then. Let's do this." Thea sighed, just wanting to get this over with. The sooner she went under, the sooner she got to come out of the pod.

"This way please." Felicity said as she showed them into the facility to the lab where the pod was.

* * *

Oliver smiled at his sister as he held her hand tightly as she was put into the coma.

"Oliver, you have to let go now." Felicity said, hating herself for saying it, since she knew how much Oliver cared about Thea, but he couldn't keep holding her hand if they wanted to close the pod.

"Okay." Oliver said as he let Thea's hand go and placed it at her side before kissing her forehead.

"Sweet dreams Speedy. I promise, you won't be here forever." Oliver said as he moved away from the pod and nodded at Felicity to close it, which she did.

"Beginning deep freeze." Felicity said as she made sure that the pod was completely sealed before reducing its internal temperature to below freezing until she'd confirmed that Thea was in stasis.

"Well?" Moira asked.

"Her vitals are stable, the chamber is working perfectly." Felicity said.

"So she's still alive?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, we'll have someone monitoring her vitals constantly and we will know if something goes wrong." Felicity said and the Queens nodded, finally convinced that Thea was in the best care possible for her now.

* * *

"So, this is what you've been doing on this earth post crisis." Oliver asked Roy as he and Laurel entered a club in the Glades.

"Yep. I mean, it wasn't easy to get this place up and running, since there weren't many banks willing to give a loan to a person with my background, but I eventually found an investor. And I've basically been doing the same thing you did with Verdant, except I only hire people who live in the Glades, since they need the jobs more." Roy said and Oliver smiled.

"Nice to know you're helping the city even before you remembered who you were." Oliver said and Roy smiled.

"Anyways, since the bunker is still under construction underneath Queen Consolidated, I figured we could use the basement of this place to use as a temporary base of operations." Roy said.

"Remind me again of why we're building the bunker under your office building?" Laurel asked her boyfriend.

"Because Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance are both very high profile citizens of Star City and I think that people might be suspicious if they see us going to an abandoned building in the Glades. Besides, it will be easier for me to balance being the Green Arrow with my job at QC if both of them take place in the same building." Oliver said and Laurel nodded.

"Speaking of, when are you planning on becoming the Green Arrow again?" Roy asked.

"Once we get the foundry up and running." Oliver said.

"I'll show you where we'll be setting up our temporary foundry." Roy said as he showed them to the basement.

* * *

Later on that night, Oliver was preparing a date night for him and Laurel at his apartment, since it was one of the few places in the city where they knew Quentin wouldn't try to spy on them.

But anyways, as he was making dinner, he got a notification on his phone that there was someone who wasn't Laurel waiting to come up. When he found out who it was, he immediately told the person at the front desk to let her up.

"Wow, and I thought my place was nice. But this place is way cooler." Anissa Pierce said as she entered the penthouse.

"You must be Anissa Pierce. Your father told me you'd be coming." Oliver said and Anissa nodded.

"Here is the formula for the serum you need to stabilize your sister." Anissa said as she handed Oliver a flash drive.

"Thank you." Oliver said, relieved that he'd be able to get Thea back in the game sooner rather than later.

"And here is the hard drive for your computer expert to decrypt." Anissa said as she handed him a hard drive.

"Thank you. Tell your father that we will get this back to him, fully decrypted as soon as we can." Oliver said and Anissa nodded as she took her leave.

"Cheating on my sister again Ollie?" a new voice said and Oliver just grinned as he turned to see Sara Lance standing on his balcony.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me alive." Oliver said with a smile.

"I never said I wasn't." Sara said as she entered the apartment and hugged him tightly and cried into his shoulder.

"I thought I lost you." Sara said as she cried.

"I know the feeling. But we're both back and so is someone we both love." Oliver said.

"Laurel." Sara said.

"Yeah. And she'll be here soon, so she'll be happy to see you here. Especially since J'onn restored her memories." Oliver said and Sara nodded.

"Well, while we wait, why don't you bring me up to speed on what else has changed in Star City." Sara said and Oliver nodded as they sat down on the couch to talk.


	12. Chapter 12

It had been a week since Sara had returned to Star City and things had begun to progress quickly. They'd restored both Quentin and Tommy's memories and both of them had willingly joined Team Arrow, Quentin as their police informant and Tommy as their mole in Tempest, since it turns out that Tommy had already been a member of Tempest before they'd restored his memories, since before, he'd actually approved of what Malcolm was doing, since his former self had blamed the Glades not only for his mother's death, but also his father's disappearance and joining Tempest had allowed him and Malcolm to reconnect.

Now of course, Tommy was disgusted by his former self and was now only keeping up an act to help Oliver and Team Arrow stop Malcolm once and for all. One good thing that came out of all this was that Malcolm had been training Tommy in League combat, so he was now able to go into the field with Team Arrow and he had a better understanding of why Oliver did what he did and no longer thought of his best friend as a murderer, but he saw Oliver as what he really was. A hero. He'd also been brought up to speed on his relationship with Thea and was now disturbed by the thought that he'd once called his sister hot.

Anyways, Oliver, John, Laurel, Roy, Felicity and Sara had spent the past week setting up the foundry at night, since while Cisco and Felicity were working hard on the bunker, it was still a long way from being ready. But now the foundry was and now Oliver had decided that he'd allowed Star City to go without it's protector for too long already.

"I can't help but notice that Cisco added something extra to your suit." John said as Oliver finished suiting up and prepared to make his debut, though not over TV quite yet.

Oliver looked down and saw that on his right shoulder was what could be considered the Green Arrow's emblem on it.

"I'm surprised he didn't do this sooner. After all, nearly every Cisco Ramon made suit has some kind of emblem on it. I'm sure he put emblems on your suits too." Oliver said.

"He did." Laurel said as she nodded towards the Spartan, Black Canary and Arsenal suits they had on display, since Sara did not have her white canary suit yet, Thea didn't have a suit yet and Tommy couldn't risk moving his suit from its current place without drawing suspicion from his father.

Like Oliver's suit, both the Spartan and Arsenal suits had emblems on the right shoulder. John's was a black helmet that was patterned after his Spartan helmet while Roy's was a red arrow. Laurel's suit (which looked just like the one her earth 2 counterpart had worn up until crisis), had a canary emblem on her belt.

"You sure you don't want back up?" Roy asked.

"Please, I can handle this solo. Besides, I have more important task for you guys." Oliver said.

"What?" Laurel asked.

"Track down every lead you can on Ricardo Diaz. I may be willing to give Darhk the benefit of the doubt, but Diaz is going to die. He's too dangerous to leave alive." Oliver said.

"On that we agree. I have been doing everything I can to find him on my end when I haven't been busy, helping set this place up or monitoring Thea's vitals in the pod." Felicity said.

"How is she doing by the way?" Roy asked.

"While we've confirmed that the serum formula will help her, right now, her cells are too unstable to risk injecting her with it. By my calculations, we need to give the pod time to slow down the progression of the deterioration before we can stabilize her with this temporary serum, since right now, it's progressing too quickly for the serum to effectively stop." Felicity said.

"Got it. And how long will that take?" Oliver asked.

"Best guess, maybe a month." Felicity said and Oliver nodded.

"Guess it's a good thing I've got a way to take out my frustration now." Oliver said.

"I almost feel bad for Adam Hunt." Laurel said, since Oliver was beginning his crusade in this reality the same way he had before.

"Don't worry, I'll leave him alive for you to prosecute. Really, I'm just going to place a hacker arrow in the office and letting Felicity do the rest. Then I'm going to pay the Triad a visit. China White and I still have a score to settle." Oliver said.

"You'll need back up if you're going to take on the entire triad." John said and Oliver nodded.

"I'll signal you after I've dealt with Hunt to suit up and meet me." Oliver said and the others nodded as Oliver headed out of the foundry.

* * *

Adam Hunt was currently sitting in his office, trying to deal with this lawsuit against him by CNRI with that pain in his ass Laurel Lance leading the charge when suddenly, the lights in his office went out.

"What the hell?" Hunt asked, only for a figure in green leather to drop down out of nowhere.

"Adam Hunt, you have failed this city." Green Arrow shouted as he fired an arrow into the wall and knew that Felicity was already doing her thing.

"What do you want?" Hunt asked.

"For you to return every last penny you've stolen, but since I know you won't do that, you'll just get this." Green Arrow said as he then proceeded to fire an arrow into Hunt's leg and he had to admit, it was very satisfying.

"Who are you?" Hunt asked as he winced in pain.

"I'm the Green Arrow. You'd better transfer that money back to its rightful owners by this time tomorrow or next time I visit you, I'll aim for a much more painful place with a less certain chance of recovery." Green Arrow said as he jumped out the window, firing a cable arrow as he did and he had to admit, it was good to be back.


	13. Chapter 13

Felicity smiled as she got off the phone with Cailtin, since Caitlin had confirmed that she'd made the necessary modifications to the serum formula she'd sent her and that it should work to temporarily stabilize Thea's meta DNA and she was currently using it as a basis for a permanent solution, though right now, it was slow going until Thawne was removed the board.

Anyways, right now she was ordering mass production of the serum for QC Applied sciences division, since she wanted to be sure that they always had enough of the serum so that Thea wouldn't have to worry about running out of it.

However, she was driven from her thoughts when an alarm went off and one of her techs ran in.

"What's going on?" Felicity asked.

"Dr. Smoak, something's wrong with the stasis pod. It's life support systems are failing." the tech said.

"Get her out of there now." Felicity snapped.

"We can't. Something's wrong with the release mechanism. The pod won't open." the tech said as Felicity ran past her, since she knew without the life support systems of the pod, it wouldn't be long before Thea either froze or suffocated inside that pod and she did not want to be the one to tell Oliver that his sister died on her watch.

* * *

When Felicity arrived at the pod, she was confused when she heard some kind of screaming from it.

"What's going on?" Felicity asked, trying to determine how this malfunction could've happened, but the screaming she was hearing was deafening, and making it hard for her to concentrate.

"Will whoever is screaming please shut up?" Felicity said.

"What are you talking about Dr. Smoak? No one is screaming?" one of the techs said.

"What? It's deafening." Felicity said, before deciding to figure it out later, since right now, her priority was keeping Thea alive.

"Help me please." a voice said in her mind.

"Who?" Felicity asked.

"I'm trying to keep her alive, but I'm in too much pain to focus on that." the voice said and now Felicity realized what was going on.

She was hearing the pod's voice.

"Tell me what's wrong with you." Felicity said quietly, since she didn't want her subordinates to think she was crazy as the machine began telling her what was causing it pain and causing the malfunctions.

"The energy regulators are failing, the pod is receiving too much energy. Switch to backup power, it should decrease the amount of power in the pod's circuitry and cause it to resume functions." Felicity ordered her techs, who nodded, knowing better to question her as they just did what she said and lowered the energy output by the generators and sure enough, that cause the pod's life support systems to come back online.

"How are Thea's vitals?" Felicity asked.

"Her core temperature has started to drop below what's safe and her air supply is dropping. We may have stabilized the pod, but it's life support systems are running ragged." one of the techs said.

"Get her out of there. Now." Felicity snapped, trying to figure out what caused the malfunction in the first place, since she'd accounted for this variable before.

"Right away ma'am. We'll contact the Queens immediately." the techs said and Felicity nodded.

"Do we have a dose of the serum ready for her?" Felicity asked.

"Yes. We just finished synthesizing the serum and we've confirmed that the pod was able to slow the deterioration of her cells enough for the serum to work." another tech said.

"Get a dose up here now. By the time Thea wakes up, I want her to be completely stable so there's no need to put her back in the pod." Felicity said.

* * *

When Thea woke up, she found that she was freezing.

"What's going on?" Thea asked, her teeth actually chattering at how cold she was. She then realized that she was soaking wet and wrapped in blankets.

"Thea, calm down." Moira said as she then saw her mother, and brother standing on both sides of her in a hospital room.

"What happened? Why am I so cold?" Thea asked.

"Thea, there was a malfunction in your stasis pod. You nearly froze. Felicity managed to get it back online and get you out of there, but you've got a case of hypothermia." Oliver said.

"So now I can't go back into it?" Thea asked.

"Yes, but now you won't need to. Felicity managed to inject you with a temporary cure that should keep you stable for now, though you'll have to keep taking it on a regular basis to maintain your stability until we can find a permanent cure." Oliver said.

"So I'm done in that pod?" Thea asked.

"Yes Thea, you are. You can get your life back." Oliver said and Thea smiled.

"Oh thank god." Thea said as she noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Walter?" Thea asked.

"At QC talking to Felicity about what went wrong in the pod." Oliver said and Thea nodded.

"So, when can I get out of here?" Thea asked.

"Once your body temperature returns to normal." Moira said as she looked down at her daughter, so happy that she was alive.

Oliver smiled too, though he also knew that he needed to talk to Thea about not using powers too frequently until they could find a permanent cure for her. But for now, he was just happy that his baby sister was alive.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been a week since the incident with Thea and Felicity had barely left her lab since, trying to figure out what caused the malfunction in the pod, since every test she'd run showed that she'd accounted for the variable with the power generators, she couldn't figure out what had caused the glitch. Even with her new powers, she couldn't figure it out.

"Hey Felicity." a familiar voice said and Felicity turned to see Tommy Merlyn walking up to her.

"Aren't you at the wrong company Tommy?" Felicity asked.

"Actually, I was here talking to Oliver about setting up a deal to have Queen Consolidated buy Merlyn Global Group after he exposes my dad and the Undertaking." Tommy said.

"I wasn't aware that Oliver even needed to expose the Undertaking, since last time I checked, isn't your dad the only member of tempest that actually thinks it's a good idea since J'onn brought you to your senses?" Felicity asked and Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, still can't believe my counterpart from this earth actually thought that the Undertaking was a good idea. I am glad that I got a real chance to make things right with Oliver though." Tommy said.

"Yeah, your death was always one of the things that haunted him the most. Only surpassed by his guilt about not being able to save his mother and Laurel." Felicity said and Tommy could hear the jealousy in her voice.

"Oh, so that's why you've been working nonstop." Tommy said.

"What do you mean?" Felicity asked.

"I can tell that despite the fact that you say you're okay with Oliver and Laurel being together, you're jealous of Laurel being the one who got Oliver in the end." Tommy said and Felicity sighed, since she figured if anyone could understand it, it was the only other person who was in the same situation as her, since just like she'd lost Oliver to Laurel, Tommy had lost Laurel to Oliver.

"I mean, I can't exactly blame him for choosing her. After all, Laurel is smart, brave, a natural blonde and a recognized hero who actually gets out in the field instead of hiding behind a computer. Not to mention the history they have between them. Even before the death of the old universe, I was jealous of Laurel. I mean, when Darhk attacked me and left me in a wheelchair for months, all Oliver did was lock him up in prison. But the moment he killed Laurel, Oliver was looking for ways to resist Darhk's magic to kill him. I heard about his perfect life during that alien invasion. It involved him marrying Laurel, not me. I have always come in second to Laurel, even after she died. And then, even after I gave birth to our daughter, he still chose her over me." Felicity said angrily.

"Calm down. Look, I get it. When I first found out that Laurel chose Oliver over me, I was pissed too. I mean, even after everything he put her through, she still chose him. But I've come to terms with it. And I moved on." Tommy said.

"How?" Felicity asked.

"By actually dating other people. I realized that I couldn't let myself stay hung up on something in the past, since doing so would just cause me more pain. Maybe it's time that you finally put yourself out there." Tommy said and Felicity took a deep breath, since she knew that he was right. She needed to get back into the game.

"I know you're right." Felicity said.

"Then may I offer a suggestion on who to start with?" Tommy asked and Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Would it be you?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah. Look, even if it isn't a romantic date, I wouldn't mind having a friend to hang out with who isn't in a relationship." Tommy said and Felicity smiled.

"What the hell, why not. It's been forever since I went clubbing." Felicity said and Tommy smiled.

"Okay then. Tonight?" Tommy asked and Felicity nodded.

"Pick me up from my apartment at 7." Felicity said and Tommy nodded as she gave him both her apartment address and her phone number.

* * *

Over the next few days, Laurel couldn't help but notice how Felicity seemed happier than she'd ever seen her. Even happier than when she was with Oliver. Though she had a suspicion on the cause of Felicity's good mood, she wanted to be certain.

So, when just the two of them were in the Foundry, Laurel decided to confront Felicity as she worked, or really, she was testing her powers, since she'd told Team Arrow about them and while they didn't know where they came from, Oliver had decided to that they might as well use them.

"So, who's the guy?" Laurel asked.

"Wait, what?" Felicity asked, losing her concentration.

"It's clear you're dating someone, since you're no longer sending not so subtle glares at me every chance you get, so it's clear that you've met someone else. So who is he?" Laurel asked and Felicity smiled.

"Tommy." Felicity said and Laurel smiled.

"I should've guessed. You two do have a lot in common." Laurel said and Felicity nodded.

"Honestly, I guess we ended up with the men that were meant for the other. I got Oliver and you got Tommy, when it should've been the other way around." Felicity said.

"I guess so. So does this mean you've finally stopped hating me?" Laurel asked with a smile and Felicity smiled back at her sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I guess it just took finally starting to date someone else to finally begin to move on. I had no right to be mad at you, since honestly, if anything, I kind of stole Oliver from you, not the other way around. He just chose to go with his heart this time. Bygones?" Felicity asked.

"Of course. And now we should plan a double date." Laurel said and Felicity nodded eagerly as they continued talking.


	15. Chapter 15

"So, what exactly was so urgent that I had to leave a reunion with my parents, who are still alive by the way, so thank you for that Oliver, but anyways to come all the way out to Star City." Kara asked as she arrived at the foundry shortly after Barry did with an old man that Oliver assumed was Peter Gambi.

"You're welcome, but trust me, this is something that both of you will be interested in." Oliver said.

"Is this about the ASA?" Barry asked.

"The what?" Kara asked.

"A corrupt government organization that on my earth, caused nothing but trouble." Jefferson said.

"And they're also responsible for Thea being dependent on a serum to keep herself alive, since while she has powers in this reality, the cause of them has set off a reaction in her cells that has destabilized them. We had to put her in a cryogenic chamber until the serum was completed." Oliver said.

"Okay then. Anyways, what is that?" Barry asked, referring to the briefcase.

"It's something my team and I recovered when we attacked an ASA base in Freeland. I brought it here so that Felicity could decrypt it, which she did. The reason why I asked you to bring Gambi here is because he used to work with the ASA, so I'm hoping that you can tell us exactly what this data is." Jefferson said and Gambi nodded as he walked over and took a look at the data.

"This is better than I could've imagined. This is exactly what we need to take down the ASA." Gambi said.

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

"This briefcase contains the genome of every metahuman the ASA has ever come in contact with." Gambi said as Barry took a closer look at the list.

"Wait, some of these names match up with missing person reports filed to the CCPD after the accelerator explosion." Barry said.

"Great, so the ASA is abducting metahumans." Kara said sarcastically.

"This goes far deeper than the ASA." Gambi said.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"What I mean is that the United States government has been funding a metahuman program since world war two." Gambi said.

"Wait, what?" Oliver asked.

"It all started with an American soldier named Tyson Sykes. I'm guessing you can guess how a black man would've been treated during that time period, even by his fellow soldiers." Gambi said.

"Poorly. So I'm guessing he got court martialed?" Oliver asked.

"Not quite. He was given the choice between a court martial or being a subject to their enhanced soldier program. Sykes chose lab rat. And while the program killed hundreds of others, instead, it activated his dormant meta gene." Gambi said.

"The first meta." Barry said and Gambi nodded.

"But the United States government funded their metahuman program, first in Markovia and then here in the States, in Freeland to be exact." Gambi said.

"Markovia?" Oliver asked.

"Back on our earth, Markovia was sort of a secondary enemy for us, since they were trying to weaponize their own metas." Jefferson said.

"I see some things never change, regardless of the earth." Kara said and Oliver and Barry both nodded their agreement.

"What was so special about Markovia?" Oliver asked.

"During the Cold War, it was the perfect strategic location, close to Russia and at the time, lacking laws against human experimentation." Gambi said.

"Until I'm guessing the Markovian government was overthrown in a coup?" Barry asked and Gambi nodded.

"If the US government has had the serum to unlock meta powers this whole time, where's their army?" Kara asked.

"The only part of the program that survived was Sykes himself. But that's not relevant right now. What is relevant is that every president since FDR has known about and funded this program, which led to the start of the ASA and the creation of the formula that gave both Jefferson and your sister their powers." Gambi said.

"So what you're saying is that the United States government has been funding this program without anyone's knowledge for years? No wonder so many countries are distrustful of Americans." Kara said angrily.

"We need to let the world know about this." Barry said.

"That's why I asked Kara to come here. I figured we could use the only reporter who can get an exclusive with Supergirl to help get this out. Especially since she owns her own media firm." Oliver said.

"Gladly. This honestly would not be the first I've exposed corruption in the United States government." Kara said.

"Iris is going to be so jealous." Barry said.

"Well, sorry, but last time I checked, I'm technically her boss, so if she tried to keep this story from me, I could fire her." Kara said.

"Anyways, you think that this information will be enough?" Oliver asked.

"From what Gambi has told us alone, I'm sure. I'd need to go through the briefcase a bit more thoroughly to be sure, but it should have all the evidence I need to expose the ASA and the government." Kara said and Jefferson and Gambi both nodded.

"I also have people in Argus who owe me favors, I'm sure that they can help you find more evidence against the ASA." Oliver said.

"I also came here because during my team's assault on the ASA, we also rescued about a dozen metahuman prisoners and we're looking for a place to send them to keep them safe." Jefferson said.

"I'll handle that. My team actually put a bunch of metas into protective custody last year. Long story, but the point is that, I know someone who can get the metas into protective custody." Barry said.

"Okay, sounds like we've got a plan. We'll likely need to provide the briefcase as evidence, but something tells me that you'll find all the data you need in there." Gambi said.

"Let me take it back to my base to copy the data to our mainframe and then bring it back. That way I can review it on my own time." Kara said and Gambi nodded.

"You mean the DEO servers?" Barry asked, since that was where Kara had been based before.

"No, I have my own base right now, similar to Star Labs or your bunker." Kara said to Oliver and Barry.

"Can't wait to see it." Barry said.

"Looking forward to it, but now I'd really like to get back to National City, since like I said, my parents came back from the dead and I'd like to spend more time with them, but once this ASA mess is dealt with, there's something else I could use both of your help with." Kara said.

"What about me?" Jefferson asked.

"If you're up for fighting aliens, then by all means." Kara said.

"Aliens?" Oliver asked.

"It's a long story that I will tell you once this ASA mess is done so that way we can focus on one issue at a time." Kara said and they all nodded before she took the briefcase and they all moved to go their separate ways.


	16. Chapter 16

"Okay Oliver, mind telling me why you wanted to meet with me here?" Lyla asked as she entered Roy's club, Crimson, to find Oliver waiting.

"While the bunker is under construction, we've set up a temporary base here." Oliver said, since he knew that J'onn had also restored Lyla's memories as well, since considering that she'd been the Harbinger, it only seemed right that her memories were restored as well.

"A new foundry." Lyla said and Oliver nodded.

"I wanted to talk to you someplace Waller couldn't listen in, since I'm still planning on killing her." Oliver said.

"You and everyone else. But anyways, what's going on?" Lyla asked.

"Have you heard about an organization called the ASA?" Oliver asked.

"A few times, but not a whole lot, why?" Lyla asked as Oliver brought her up to speed on the latest developments.

"Okay, sounds like this Odell bastard would get along real well with Amanda Waller." Lyla said.

"It wouldn't surprise if they're related." Oliver said.

"So, what do you need from me?" Lyla asked.

"Black Lightning has already gotten us evidence against the ASA, which we've given to Kara, since as a reporter, she has the best chance of exposing the ASA's criminal actions, but I was hoping that you could help build a case against them, since while the expose Kara's doing will definitely be good, the more proof we have the better." Oliver said and Lyla nodded.

"I will start conducting an off the books investigation into the ASA with agents I personally trust. We may also dig into Waller, since her actions are very similar to what this Odell has been doing, so we might as well take her down to." Lyla said and Oliver nodded.

"Thank you Lyla." Oliver said.

"I have to admit, when I thought of all the ways Crisis could end, this wasn't what I expected." Lyla said.

"Let me guess, you thought I was going to die?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah pretty much. But I also mean with all the heroes of the multiverse now living on the same earth." Lyla said and Oliver smiled.

"Things don't always go the way we expect them to. But this is one surprise I'm not complaining about. I thought that I'd be reunited with the ones I lost and I was. Just not in the way I expected." Oliver said.

"I'm curious, do you have any ideas on why your father didn't survive?" Lyla asked.

"My best guess is that I could only change things that didn't change me and without my father's sacrifice, I never would've been able to become the man I am today. The man who was willing to give up everything to save the world. All worlds." Oliver said.

"Sounds like you can't deny you're a hero anymore Oliver. Your father would be proud." Lyla said.

"I hope so. When I started this, it was about honoring him and his memory and final wish. Now I realize that this crusade that I've started, while it may have begun about him, now it's grown into so much more. I honestly never could've imagined that it would become what it did and what I'm sure it will be again." Oliver said.

"Oliver, when you started your crusade, you lit the spark and that spark grew into an age of heroes. One that I don't think will be ending any time soon. If anything, it's only just started, since in addition to the heroes we already know of, a new world means new threats, which also will likely mean new heroes will emerge to face them." Lyla said.

"I guess we'll see. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me Lyla." Oliver said.

"It's the least I could do. I'll let you know when I find something." Lyla said and Oliver nodded as they went their separate ways.

* * *

After meeting with Lyla, Oliver decided that since the team had spoken about it and he was in the area, it was time to recruit another member of the team and he was thankful that before she'd left, Kara had given him another memory gun, courtesy of J'onn, since they wanted each team to be able to restore the memories of other people from this earth without the martian's assistance.

That was why he was walking up to a familiar apartment in the Glades and took a slight breath before he knocked on the door.

When the door opened, he was surprised by who opened it.

"Mr. Queen. What brings you here?" Laura Ramirez asked.

"I came here to speak to your husband. And no, he's not in any trouble." Oliver said and Laura nodded as she called her husband.

"Mr. Queen, what can I do for you?" Rene asked.

"Can I talk to you out here for a moment." Oliver asked and while Rene was confused, he nodded as he walked out of the apartment.

The moment, the apartment door closed, Oliver whipped out the memory gun and shot Rene with it.

"Damn Hoss, why do I get the feeling you've been wanting to do that for a long time?" Rene asked as he recovered and Oliver smiled.

"Because you know me Rene. Or should I call you Wild Dog." Oliver asked and Rene smiled at him.

"Your choice, since either way, you're talking to the same guy. Green Arrow." Rene said and Oliver smiled.

"Welcome back." Oliver said as he and Rene shook hands.

"Thanks. I'm assuming that I'm the last one you restored the memories of?" Rene asked.

"Yep. Come with me. The team's eager to see you. Especially those who didn't get a chance to meet you before." Oliver said.

"Really, who else is on the team?" Rene asked.

"John, Felicity, Roy, Thea and Quentin like before, along with the real Laurel and Tommy Merlyn." Oliver said.

"So, I finally get to meet the Laurel of this earth. But it sounds like there's a lot to catch me up on." Rene said.

"There is. Like how you're the only one of the new recruits from the old earth that I also recruited on this one." Oliver said.

"Why me? Why not Curtis or Dinah?" Rene asked.

"Because honestly Rene, part of the reason why I think you and I kept budding heads is because of how much you remind me of myself. You've got the heart of a vigilante and a hero. Plus, Curtis isn't exactly the most fit for the field and Dinah is who knows where right now. Besides, the only reason I recruited her was to be the new Black Canary, but since we have the real Black Canary back, there's no need to recruit her." Oliver said.

"Okay, I'm gonna let Laura and Zoe know that I'm going out for a bit and then you can finish bringing me up to speed." Rene said and Oliver nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

"So, where are we headed?" Rene asked as he got in the passenger seat of Oliver's car.

"Where else. To the Arrowcave." Oliver said.

"I thought you hated it when people called it that." Rene asked.

"Tell anyone about it and I'll put arrows in both your legs." Oliver said and Rene nodded as he held up his hands in surrender, knowing that Oliver wasn't joking.

"Got it. Let's head out." Rene said.

* * *

"So, any ideas on why Ollie wanted us to meet him here instead of at the foundry?" Thea asked as she, Laurel, John, Felicity, Roy, Tommy and Quentin all stood in a familiar, but empty abandoned building.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet Speedy." Oliver said as he and Rene entered the building.

"Rene." John said with a smile as he walked up and shook his hand.

"Hey, good to see you again hoss." Rene said as he shook John's hand before hugging Felicity and then turning to Quentin.

"It's good to see you again Rene." Quentin said with a smile as he held out his hand to Rene, who shook it.

"You too hoss. And I hope you're not tired of working with me, because I've decided to enlist in the SCPD." Rene said and Quentin smiled.

"If you'd told me that when we first met, I would've said hell no. But now, I think the SCPD would be lucky to have a cop like you in it's ranks." Quentin said.

"Thanks." Rene said as he looked at Laurel.

"So, you must be the Laurel all these OGs spoke so highly of." Rene said as he held out his hand to Laurel, who shook it.

"I've heard a lot about you too. Like how you turned on Ollie and gave his name to the FBI." Laurel said.

"You told her about that?" Rene asked.

"We wanted her and Tommy to know all the details about you before we made the decision." Oliver said.

"But I also know why you did it and you are also the only member of this team who kept fighting after Ollie went to prison, so I'll let it slide. Especially since I've heard about how much you helped my dad out after my death." Laurel said and Rene nodded.

"So, why are we here?" Tommy asked, since he was the only one who'd never been to this building before.

"Wait, is it finished?" Felicity asked.

"You tell me." Oliver said with a smile as he moved to a wall and pressed a few buttons on a panel, causing the wall to open and reveal a hidden elevator.

"Nice." Roy said as they all piled into the elevator.

* * *

"Okay, this place is way cooler than the foundry." Tommy said as they all walked out into the newly constructed bunker.

"Welcome to the bunker." Oliver said.

"Wow, it's exactly the same as it was before." Felicity said.

'Well, not exactly." Oliver said as he directed their attention to the suit pods and pressed a few buttons on the computers to trigger them opening to reveal suits on display from left to right. Wild Dog, Arsenal, Spartan, Green Arrow, Black Canary and finally a bright blue suit.

"Is this my suit?" Thea asked, since the suit looked like a blue version of the one she'd worn as Speedy, complete with the quiver.

"Figured you deserved your own and considering your powers, blue seemed more appropriate then red." Oliver said.

"I heard about those. I have to ask, why would you still fight with arrows when you can control water?" Rene asked.

"Because unlike Team Flash, I don't want to rely solely on my powers and besides, for right now, it's too dangerous for me to use them." Thea said.

"What?" Rene asked.

"I'll tell you later, but Thea's right. Laurel won't be relying solely on her powers either and Dinah didn't either on the old earth. Their powers are tools, not crutches. And by the way, Barry doesn't just rely on his powers anymore. Only reason why he uses them as much as he does in a fight is because most of the enemies he fights also have powers, so he's leveling the playing field." Oliver said.

"You'd know all about that wouldn't you." John asked with a chuckle.

"What is he talking about?" Laurel asked.

"A year before Crisis, that Mar Novu character decided to test our earth to see if we could handle the crisis that was coming and in doing so, he gave this book called the book of destiny which had the power to change reality, to a maniac named John Deegan. The first change he made was accidentally making Barry and I switch lives. I became the Flash and he became the Green Arrow. It's a long story that I really do not want to get into." Oliver said, glaring at John for bringing that up.

"Yeah we don't talk about that. Ever." Felicity said and Laurel nodded, knowing a closed topic when she heard one.

"So anyways, we've got the bunker back. So let's get to work." Oliver said.


	18. Chapter 18

"So, what's the plan?" Rene asked as they all gathered in the bunker.

"We start making as much noise as possible to lure Malcolm out. Right now Star City doesn't even think any of us exist, let alone that we're heroes. We need to expose Malcolm as the maniac he is. And to do that, we need to draw him out." Oliver said.

"And how do we do that?" Thea asked.

"By taking out names on his list. Adam Hunt was a start, but he won't be enough to convince Malcolm that his plans are in jeopardy." Oliver said.

"But if we keep taking out his associates, then he'll come to us." John said.

"Exactly. Tommy, you need to maintain your cover in Tempest so we can know if any changes happen in his plan." Oliver said and Tommy nodded.

"What about the rest of us?" John asked.

"We divide and conquer. I'm going after Jason Brodeur, so Laurel, I'm guessing you can assume where I want you to be?" Oliver asked.

"I already have a meeting with Declan at Iron Heights tomorrow morning." Laurel confirmed.

"Okay, what am I missing?" Rene asked.

"Jason Brodeur's company has been dumping toxic waste into the bay. When Peter Declan's wife found out about it and threatened to blow the whistle, he had her killed and framed Declan for it. I'm going to clear his name and Laurel and Lance are going to work on stopping his execution." Oliver said.

"What about the rest of us?" John asked.

"John, I want you and Rene to take out Ted Gaynor. I'm sure you'll be more than happy to do that." Oliver said.

"Gladly." John said, remembering Gaynor's betrayal.

"What about Thea and I?" Roy asked.

"I want you two to deal with Martin Somer." Oliver said.

"Actually, I have a way that Tommy can help us." Felicity said.

"How?" Tommy asked.

"It took a lot of digging through the police digi files, but I finally managed to find proof connecting Brick to the murder of your mom. I'm sending it to Lance so that he can notify your dad. I'm sure that he'll be more than happy to let you take Brick down." Felicity said.

"You sure you don't mind that?" John asked Oliver.

"Brick tried to kill me while I was in prison and he was killed not long after I was released anyways. I see no reason to let him live." Oliver said, having no hesitation to remove another thorn from Star City. Especially one he doubted anyone would miss.

"Who killed him?" Rene asked.

"Stanley Dover. AKA, the Star City Slayer." Oliver said.

"Also known as your fanboy." Rene added.

"I'm sorry what?" Laurel asked.

"He was sent to Slabside while I was there. He played himself off as a victim who was wrongly incarcerated. It wasn't until the day of my release that I realized the truth about him. He's a dangerous psychopath who I am planning on putting behind bars myself once I find him." Oliver said, since Stanley was his problem and he intended to stop him as soon as he got the chance.

"So, I'll add him to the list of people I need to find." Felicity said, since Dover had tried to kill her too, and William, so she understood Oliver's determination to stop him.

"Okay so, let's move out." Oliver said as they moved to go their separate ways.

"Ollie, can I talk to you for a second?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah sure." Oliver said.

"Why do I get the feeling that taking down Brodeur is a little more personal for you then you care to admit?" Laurel asked and Oliver sighed, since no one had ever really known him as well as she did.

"Because it is. Brodeur took both of Izzy Declan's parents away from her. He had her mother killed and sent her father to prison. Reminds me of William." Oliver said.

"Your son." Laurel said.

"About a year after you died, William was drawn into this world and Samantha was killed as a result. He came to live with me. It wasn't exactly easy, but we came to appreciate each other, became a real father and son. Then I went to prison and lost all of that. I won't let Peter Declan suffer for a crime he didn't commit and I will reunite him with his daughter." Oliver said.

"Sounds like maybe you want to reunite with your son." Laurel said.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Oliver asked her and Laurel smiled.

"No, not a bad thing at all. It just proves that there's another layer to you that I didn't know existed." Laurel said.

"As much as I want to reach out to William, I also don't want to pull him into this world." Oliver said.

"I understand that fear, but at the same time, I think every kid deserves to know their father." Laurel said and Oliver sighed.

"I'll think about it. Either way, I owe my mother a conversation about that first." Oliver said and Laurel nodded her agreement at that.


	19. Chapter 19

The next day, Laurel found herself sitting in the visitor's room of Iron Heights as Peter Declan was brought out before her.

"What do you want Ms. Lance?" Peter asked.

"To get you out of here." Laurel said, much to his surprise.

"Really. I thought that you and everyone else in this city believed that I killed my wife." Peter said.

"No Peter, I don't. I can't explain everything, but what I can tell you is that I believe that you were framed by Jason Brodeur and I'm going to get you out of here." Laurel said.

"Why do you care?" Peter asked.

"Because I care about justice and letting an innocent man be executed is not justice." Laurel said.

"Really, well you're the only one and you didn't seem to care about it until now." Declan said.

"To be fair, I was still in law school when you were arrested. But my father has reopened your case and after looking over all information together, we both realized that the pieces had fallen into place a little too perfectly. That's why we decided to double check." Laurel said.

"I'm sorry, but you understand my skepticism." Declan said.

"I do, but I assure you, I am going to do everything I can to get you out of here and back to your daughter." Laurel said and Declan nodded, though he still looked doubtful.

* * *

"So, tell me again why you're looking into this closed case?" Hilton asked his partner.

"Take a closer look Lucas. The more I look at this report, the more I realize that the pieces of this case fell into place almost a little too perfectly. See." Quentin said as he showed Hilton the reports he'd been looking at and after a few minutes of looking, Hilton had to admit that maybe Quentin had a point.

"Okay, maybe there's something going on here, but still, maybe you're just overthinking it." Hilton said.

"Maybe I am, but if there's a chance that we got the wrong guy, then I am taking it before an innocent man pays for a crime he didn't commit." Quentin said.

"Okay then, so where do we start?" Hilton asked.

"That's the thing, I can't bring you into this, since technically, a hunch isn't enough to get a warrant to search into anything. Plus, who knows, maybe corruption in the legal system played a role in this as well." Quentin said.

"Wait, you're willing to go outside the law?" Hilton asked, shocked.

"If there's one thing people like Superman and Batman have proven, it's that sometimes the law isn't enough to achieve justice." Quentin said, not believing he was saying those words. Then again, Oliver Queen's return to Star City had forced him to reevaluate his priorities.

"Still, where are you going to start on this?" Hilton asked.

"According to records, Declan stated that his wife Camile had evidence that her boss Jason Brodeur was guilty of toxic dumping and she gave her evidence to her supervisor, Matt Istook. I know it's a long shot, since we interviewed Istook before, but maybe we missed something, since honestly, how often are businessmen like that actually honest?" Quentin asked.

"Fair enough. I'll try to cover for you." Hilton said.

"Thank you." Quentin said, even though he wouldn't actually be the one to talk to Istook. That would be Oliver's pleasure.

* * *

That night, Matt Istook was on his way out to his car from his office when the lights went out.

"What's going on?" Istook asked, right as an arrow flew right past his leg and embedded itself in his car.

"Matt Istook. You have failed this city." Green Arrow said as he walked up to him.

"Who are you?" Matt Istook asked.

"Someone that you do not want to piss off." Green Arrow snarled as he raised his bow again.

"What do you want?" Istook asked.

"The truth. Camille Declan, she came to you with proof that Jason Brodeur was guilty of toxic dumping, but you told the SCPD the opposite and let an innocent man suffer because of it. So tell me, how much?" Green Arrow asked.

"I'm sorry?" Istook asked.

"How much did Peter Declan's life cost? I'm betting letting him go to prison was a very nice payday." Green Arrow said.

"What do you want?" Istook asked.

"The evidence Camille Declan gave you to use against Jason Brodeur. Where is it?" Green Arrow asked, wondering if this version of Istook was any smarter than the last one.

"I destroyed it. Better to avoid being caught with it." Istook said as Green Arrow snarled as he aimed his bow at him.

"What are you going to do?" Istook asked.

"As much as I want to kill you, you'll get what you deserve in Iron Heights." Green Arrow said, since Felicity had recorded that confession and sent it to Quentin, who, even if it didn't get Declan acquitted or Brodeur convicted, at least he could get Istook convicted for perjury and being an accessory to murder.

* * *

"In a stunning turn of events, Matthew Istook has been arrested by the SCPD and has admitted to falsifying his testimony against Peter Declan, causing the SCPD to reopen Declan's case and also begin mounting a full investigation into Jason Brodeur. While Istook refuses to explain the cause of this change of heart, many are speculating that the new vigilante in Star City known as the Green Arrow is responsible." Susan Williams said on the news.

"So, now that the SCPD are investigating Brodeur, you think he'll slip up?" Laurel asked her boyfriend.

"He's a desperate man trying to cover his tracks. And men like that tend to make mistakes. We just need to wait for him to make his. In the meantime, talk to your dad about putting Declan in protective custody. We both know that he'll be in danger with Brodeur trying to cover his tracks." Oliver said.

"Surprised you're not confining me to the Bunker." Laurel said with a smile.

"I thought about it, but then figured that you'd find a way out, so the best way I could keep you safe is if you're by my side when we take down Brodeur. Green Arrow has made his presence known in Star City, it's time for the Black Canary to make a name for herself as well." Oliver said and Laurel sighed.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be the Black Canary again quite yet." Laurel said.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Laurel Lance?" Oliver asked, though he had a feeling he knew what was going on with her.

"Ollie, the last time I put on that mask, I died." Laurel said as she looked at her new suit. When she'd first gotten it, she'd been excited, but now, now she was wondering if maybe having Cisco make it was a mistake.

"Laurel, I get it. It's the same thing I went through after I faced Malcolm the first time and he nearly killed me. You're not afraid of dying are you?" Oliver asked and Laurel shook her head.

"No, I'm afraid of leaving behind everyone I love. I mean, you know what death did to the people I love." Laurel said.

"Yeah, I do. Listen Laurel, I understand that fear, I felt the same way while I was recovering from Malcolm's attack. But Laurel, those connections, they aren't a weakness, they aren't something to be afraid of. Those people you're concerned about, they should be your reason for fighting, since we're fighting for our city and our families. And honestly, we need you. You were always the best of us and we both know that you were at your best when you were the Black Canary." Oliver said.

"Ollie, I only became the Black Canary because I wanted to honor Sara, even after she came back." Laurel said.

"Sounds like you have a similar problem to what I used to. I may have started this crusade to honor my father, but now I realized that it isn't about him. My fight, my reason for being the Green Arrow was because being the Green Arrow is who I was always meant to be. It sounds like you need to figure out what your reason for being the Black Canary is, since honestly, I think that while you were always meant to be the Black Canary, I won't force you to put that mask on and you shouldn't while you're feeling conflicted like this." Oliver said.

"I already know that this fight is worth fighting, I'm just not sure what I'm fighting for right now." Laurel said.

"Then you take some time to figure out what you're fighting for. That suit will be waiting for you when you figure it out." Oliver said and Laurel smiled as she kissed him.

"Thank you Ollie. For always having my back." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"I always will, even if I didn't always have it in the past." Oliver said.

"You do now and that's what matters to me." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"Come on, let's go get some dinner." Oliver said and Laurel nodded as they left the bunker.


	20. Chapter 20

Ever since she'd spoken to Oliver the previous night, Laurel couldn't stop thinking about whether or not she should put her mask back on. A part of her knew that being the Black Canary was what she'd been meant to do, but another part of her was scared, not of dying, since that was a risk she'd always known would be part of the job and accepted it, but of the effects her death would have on the people she loved. Oliver had told her how her teammates had reacted to her death. Her dad had relapsed hard and had actually had to go into rehab to get the help he needed because of her death, Thea had quit the team, John had shot his own brother and then had willingly gone to military prison for a crime he hadn't committed to atone for what he'd done, Sara had become driven on risking history itself to kill Damien Darhk before he could kill her. And Ollie, well, he did what he always did when he lost people he loved. He pushed those closest to him away, or rather he let them go, and tried to do things alone until he had his back pushed up against the wall.

Her death had basically caused the near destruction of Team Arrow and had deeply impacted everyone she held dear. And she didn't want to put them through the pain of losing her again.

On the other hand, another part of Laurel's mind countered, that same risk had never scared Sara. As soon as she came back to life and got her soul back, she immediately jumped back into the game as a hero. Plus, now Laurel had an actual canary cry instead of the artificial one Cisco had made her. Not to mention that now she had a real costume created by Cisco instead of the makeshift one she'd thrown together, since that one was not as protective as she'd hoped it would be.

But honestly, the thing that was holding her back the most was that the reason she'd become the Black Canary in the first place no longer existed. She'd originally become the Black Canary in order to make people think she was her sister, and then to honor Sara's memory, but before, after Sara had been brought back, the Black Canary had already existed, so she couldn't exactly quit then. But now she hadn't become the Black Canary yet and she wasn't sure if she ever should. This city had enough heroes now. It had Green Arrow, Spartan, Arsenal, Overwatch, Wild Dog, whatever new name Thea came up with, she wasn't sure it needed her. She wasn't sure the city or the world needed the Black Canary. She was currently sitting in the bunker at the conference table when she heard someone walk up to her.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" John asked her.

"My office closed an hour ago." Laurel said.

"You know that's not what I meant. Oliver is at Iron Heights right now, keeping tabs on Peter Declan, so why aren't you there to?" John asked, since while he and Rene were still working on Gaynor, Laurel was Oliver's partner on the Brodeur mission.

"I stayed behind. I needed some time to think." Laurel said.

"About?" John asked as Laurel gave him a look.

"Really John. Don't act like Oliver didn't tell you about our conversation last night." Laurel said, raising an eyebrow.

"Fair enough." John chuckled as he sat down next to her.

"So, where's the big speech?" Laurel asked and John chuckled.

"You really think I came here to give you one?" John asked.

"That's what you do isn't it? The whole reason Oliver kept you around to begin with." Laurel said with a smile as John chuckled again.

"Fair enough. Oliver did tell me that you were doubting whether or not you should be the Black Canary again." John said.

"Honestly John, the whole reason I became the Black Canary was to assimilate and then honor Sara. But now she's alive and the city doesn't need the Canary to put fear in them. I've lost the whole reason I became the Black Canary in the first place. Not to mention what it did to everyone else after I died." Laurel said.

"Okay first off, that is not on you. We're all responsible for how we chose to mourn, myself included. And let's face it, if any of us spent all our time worrying about that, we'd never suit up. We can't control what other people do Laurel, only what we can do." John said.

"I know you're right about that and honestly, I have come to terms with that. But honestly, I'm not sure why I should be the Black Canary when the whole reason I did in the first place no longer exists." Laurel said.

"Really, by that logic, you would've hung up your mask the moment after Sara got her soul back. Laurel, you didn't become the Black Canary when Sara died, she's always been a part of you. From what I heard, even as a kid, you were obsessed with getting justice for those who needed it, standing up for people who couldn't stand up for themselves. That's why you became a lawyer right?" John asked.

"Yeah of course. It's also why I chose to work for CNRI instead of taking a job with a big firm." Laurel said.

"Exactly. Laurel, the Black Canary is more than just a mantle or a mask. She's a part of who you are. Always has been and always will be. You can't walk away from that and we both know that you don't want to." John said and Laurel smiled.

"I always felt like I was my best self after I put on that mask." Laurel said as she looked over at her suit.

"Exactly. And that's because when you became the Black Canary, you were finally embracing all parts of yourself. You didn't become the Black Canary after Sara died. You've always been the Black Canary, that event is just what finally caused you to embrace her." John said and Laurel smiled at him before looking back at her suit, wondering if maybe it was time to put it back on.

"I need to go meet up with Gaynor, since Rene and I are working undercover for the moment, but think about what I said." John said as he got up and left as Laurel nodded at him and kept thinking as she continued looking at her suit.


	21. Chapter 21

Green Arrow was currently trying to fight his way through the prison riot Jason Brodeur's bodyguard Ankov caused to create a diversion so he could kill Declan. The first time, it hadn't been a problem for him, but now he was trying to avoid casualties, which made this slightly more difficult, since this time he didn't want to raise the wrong message about his intentions.

Every time he took out one inmate, two more sprung up in their place and while he was working his way to Declan, his non lethal approach was causing it to take slightly longer than it had before, not because these prisoners were a challenge, but because they kept coming at him. It honestly reminded him of when Diaz had sicced all of Slabside on him, only this time, he had his gear.

Anyways, as more and more inmates continued to surge in, Green Arrow knew that if he wanted to save Declan, he'd have to start using more lethal means when suddenly, all the inmates were taken down at once as a deafening cry and Green Arrow grinned as his ears recovered and saw the Black Canary, dressed in the same suit her earth 2 doppelganger had worn before the Crisis.

"You're late." Green Arrow said.

"And you took a lot longer to deal with the prisoners than you did before. Getting rusty?" Black Canary replied cheekily and Green Arrow grinned at her.

"I'm trying that no killing as a first resort thing earlier this time around. It takes longer." Green Arrow said and Black Canary rolled her eyes.

"Let's do this before Ankov kills Declan." Black Canary said, only to watch as Green Arrow aimed his bow behind him and fired a cable arrow and Black Canary grinned when she heard a yelp of pain and the cable retracted with Ankov in tow and Green Arrow simply whirled around and slugged him unconscious as he flew into his fist.

"How's that for rusty?" Green Arrow asked and Black Canary grinned.

"I take it back. You've still got it." Black Canary said with a grin as Green Arrow hoisted Ankov up and held an arrow to his throat.

"Why were you, Jason Brodeur's security guard, about to kill Peter Declan?" Green Arrow asked.

"I'm not talking?" Ankov said, though it clearly sounded more like a question than an actual statement.

"Fine then, right or left?" Green Arrow asked.

"Excuse me?" Ankov asked.

"I think he's asking which leg you want him to break first. Right or left?" Black Canary said.

"She's right. So you gonna talk?" Green Arrow asked as he tightened his grip on Ankov's wrist.

"Okay, fine, I was here to kill Peter Declan and get the case against my boss dropped." Ankov said, right as Quentin and the SCPD stormed into the prison.

"What's going on here?" Quentin asked, though he already knew as he watched Green Arrow toss Ankov to the ground.

"Detective Lance, this is the man who really killed Camile Declan. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to spill every little detail. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go." Green Arrow said and before any officers could do anything, both he and Black Canary tossed smoke bombs on the floor to cover their escape.

* * *

"In a stunning turn of events, not only has Peter Declan been acquitted and released from Iron Heights, but his former accuser Jason Brodeur has now been sentenced to at least one consecutive life sentence for the murder of Camile Declan and on charges of toxic dumping. The Star City Police Department has refused to comment more on the topic, though rumors do suggest that the same vigilante who attacked Adam Hunt is responsible for it. And on the topic of that, both Ted Gaynor and Martin Somers have both found similar fates as Jason Brodeur with more confirmed vigilante activity." Susan Williams said as Team Arrow watched the news.

"I have to admit, this is the first time I've actually liked her reporting." Thea said.

"That should give Malcolm something to worry about. That's four names crossed off his list. We'll keep crossing them off until he shows himself." Oliver said.

"Maybe we should try to speed up the process a bit." Felicity said.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Do what you did the first time you became the Green Arrow. Make your intentions clear to the city now and also force Malcolm's hand." Felicity said.

"Not a bad idea." Oliver said.

"So, are we going on TV?" John asked.

"I guess so." Oliver said.


	22. Chapter 22

"Okay, we are set to broadcast, do you know what you're going to say?" Felicity asked Oliver as he stood in front of the camera.

"It'll come to me in the moment." Oliver said before he turned on his voice modulator.

"And we are live." Felicity said as she hacked into the emergency broadcast system to air the Green Arrow's message.

* * *

"What's going on?" Quentin asked as he walked through the precinct.

"Someone has hacked into the Star City emergency broadcast system." another officer said as the Green Arrow's image appeared on the screen.

"People of Star City, do not be afraid. I know that you have heard of me and my associates on the news. Some of you are scared of us. But I am here now to assure you that we do not want to hurt you. We are not criminals or monsters. We are people, just like you. People who are tired of watching the innocent people of this city suffer while those with the means to help sit back and do nothing except make the situation worse. My team and I are not your enemies. We are fighting to make Star City a safe place for us to raise our families and a place that we can proudly call home. I intend to save this city from those who have hurt it and I know that I am not alone. These brave men and women have dedicated their lives to helping this city and are just as significant as me. Spartan," Green Arrow said as the camera's view turned to John, who was suited up as Spartan, "Arsenal," Arsenal appeared on the screen, "Wild Dog," Rene was shown dressed in his Wild Dog gear, "Black Canary," Laurel's image in her new Black Canary suit was shown, "Typhoon," Thea's image in her new suit was shown, "and I am the Green Arrow." Green Arrow said as the message cut out and Quentin rolled his eyes at the theatrics before getting back to work.

* * *

Malcolm was staring at his screen in shock and anger at this. Whoever these people were, they were clearly a threat to his plans, especially this Green Arrow, since he appeared to be the leader of this gang.

He'd have to make some moves in order to take them out before his plans were ruined.

* * *

The following day, Oliver and Thea were sparring in the bunker, but Thea could tell there was something on her brother's mind, though despite that, he was still holding his own against her.

"Okay Ollie, what is going on with you?" Thea asked.

"I've been thinking about restoring mom's memories." Oliver said.

"Really, why?" Thea asked.

"Secrets and lies destroyed our family the first time around Speedy. How can we expect mom to be honest with us when we won't do the same for her. Besides, there are things besides William that I need to confront her about and it will be easier to do so if she remembers." Oliver said.

"Like what?" Thea asked.

"Emiko. She drove Emiko the Ninth Circle by forcing dad to abandon her and her mother. Just another one of the messes she and dad have made that I've had to clean up." Oliver said as he knocked Thea off her feet before helping her up.

"I thought you made your peace with that." Thea asked him.

"So did I. When mom was dead. But now that she's alive again, I feel like I need to clear the air with her and the only way I can do that is if she remembers everything." Oliver said and Thea nodded, since she could understand Oliver's frustrations, since it seemed like even after all the hard work he'd done to separate himself from their parents, he still ended up having to clean up their messes.

"I get that Ollie, I really do. It isn't right or fair to you that you're the one who always has to clean up the messes that mom and dad have made." Thea agreed.

"Haven't you been doing the same?" Oliver asked.

"I've been cleaning up Malcolm's messes, but honestly, I feel like I never really helped lighten the weight both mom and dad put on you. I feel like I failed in doing what dad asked me to do in that video." Thea said.

"Thea, you left because you needed to figure things out. Besides, I never wanted you to have to shoulder that burden." Oliver said and Thea smiled.

"And I appreciate that Ollie, but how is it fair if I don't have to shoulder those burdens but you do? The two of us, we're our own team. And I want to help lighten the load on your shoulders. The sins of our parents aren't just yours to fix." Thea said and Oliver smiled.

"What about Malcolm's sins?" Oliver asked.

"Malcolm's sins will be rectified when you kill him, because we both know that is the only way this can end. If you kill him before he initiates the Undertaking, then none of his sins will have come to pass like they did before." Thea said and Oliver nodded.

"Next time Malcolm and I come to blows, only one of us is walking away. There's not a trick he has that I don't know." Oliver said.

"I know." Thea assured him.


	23. Chapter 23

Oliver took a deep breath as he entered the mansion and prepared himself for the long and most likely loud conversation he was about to have with his mother.

"Oliver, what a nice surprise." Moira said pleasantly.

"Can we talk? Privately?" Oliver asked and Moira was honestly a bit worried considering the tone of his voice, but nodded nonetheless as she led him into the parlour and gestured to her staff to leave them.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Moira asked.

"You'll know in a second." Oliver said as he pulled out the memory gun and before Moira could say anything, he fired and he had to admit, as much as he loved his mother, after everything he'd learned about her true nature, he took more pleasure than he should've in taking that shot.

"I imagine that is not the first time you've wanted to shoot me Oliver." Moira said as she recovered from the mind dump.

"You have no idea." Oliver said with a smile as he then hugged his mother.

"I'm so sorry I didn't save you mom. I should've stopped Slade." Oliver said.

"Don't apologize for that. Honestly, maybe a sword in the chest is what I deserve for all the pain I caused." Moira said and Oliver took a deep breath.

"Speaking of that, I didn't just come up here to restore your memories." Oliver said.

"I'm assuming that you did both to me in order to confront me about the skeletons in my closet. But before we do that, there is something that both you and Thea need to know." Moira said.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"I still have the memories of my counterpart from this earth and apparently I was a much more faithful wife to Robert than he was a husband to me in this world." Moira said and Oliver got the implications.

"Thea isn't Malcolm's daughter." Oliver said and Moira nodded.

"She'll be thrilled to hear that." Oliver said and Moira nodded.

"So, which skeleton do you want to confront me about first?" Moira asked.

"How about the one where you kept my son from me." Oliver said angrily.

"Oliver, you weren't ready to be a father." Moira said.

"That should've been my decision to make, not yours. Who knows, maybe having a kid could've been what forced me to get my act together. But you were more concerned about avoiding a scandal that would come with the oldest Queen child having an illegitimate child. You put our family's image and reputation over what was actually best for it." Oliver said angrily.

"Perhaps you're right." Moira agreed.

"Besides, I found out about it in the end and I actually did manage to have a relationship with my kid." Oliver said.

"You did." Moira said.

"Yes. I have a son and his name is William. And even though I haven't met him yet in this reality, I love him more than I ever thought possible." Oliver said and Moira smiled.

"I thought the same thing the first time I held you and Thea in my arms. And I shouldn't have deprived you of that with your son." Moira said.

"I thought I made my peace with it." Oliver said.

"When I was dead. But now I'm not. And Oliver, I am so sorry I denied you the chance to be in your son's life, but it sounds like you got to know him in the end." Moira said.

"Yeah, but it wasn't exactly easy balancing being a father and being the other thing." Oliver said.

"The hero." Moira said with a smile.

"Mom." Oliver said.

"Oliver, for all my faults, knowing the man that you've grown into and the woman that Thea's grown into, it proves that despite everything I did wrong, at least did one thing right. I raised my children to be heroes and I could not be prouder of either of you. You and Thea are my greatest accomplishments." Moira said and Oliver smiled before he took a deep breath, knowing that his mother needed to be made aware of the next thing.

"Except Thea and I aren't dad's only children are we?" Oliver asked.

"You know about Emiko." Moira said, not honestly surprised, since she should've known that Oliver, being the man he'd become, would've eventually found out about her.

"Yeah and I know what you and dad did to her and her mother." Oliver said.

"What exactly do you know about that situation?" Moira asked, taking Oliver aback.

"Enough. I know how dad had a daughter with a woman named Kazumi Adachi and her name is Emiko and that you forced him to abandon her when she was just a kid and left her and her mother to fend for themselves with no support, causing her to end up joining an international criminal enterprise called the Ninth Circle and she tried to kill me and destroy this entire city. And she knew that the Queen's Gambit was rigged. She knew and she had the opportunity to warn dad, but she didn't because of how angry she was at our family." Oliver said and Moira looked down in shame.

"I know there is nothing I can say to justify what I did." Moira said.

"You're right. Just like how you can't use Thea and I to justify your actions in the Undertaking. And you know what mom, I've recently realized something that you and dad have in common." Oliver said angrily.

"And what might that be?" Moira asked.

"You both have a tendency to make decisions based only on how they affect you and then you don't give a damn about the messes those choices make and leave them for someone else to clean up, usually me. Do you have any idea how hard I've had to work to redeem our family's name after all the terrible things that you and dad have done? How many times I have had to prove to everyone, including myself sometimes that I am not the same as either of you were." Oliver demanded.

"You're right." Moira said, taking Oliver aback, since honestly, he'd expected her to deny everything he'd just said.

"You're right Oliver. I never stopped to think about how my choices would affect other people, even my own children. And you shouldn't have to clean up the messes of my mistakes." Moira said.

"You can't do anything about it now mom. I managed to get through to Emiko once before and I'll do it again. But mom, you should think about whether or not all the choices you've made in both this world and old one were worth all the pain they caused." Oliver said as he walked away from his mother, honestly feeling a bit lighter now that he'd gotten that off his chest.


	24. Chapter 24

"So, what you're saying is that in this reality, I really am Robert Queen's daughter?" Thea asked, honestly relieved after Oliver told her.

"Yeah. Mom told me that while she had been tempted to cheat on dad after she found out about Emiko, she didn't, because that would make her just as bad as him." Oliver said and he could see a weight be lifted off her shoulders knowing that she was no longer the spawn of one of the worst sociopaths in the world.

"That's a relief. But it also means that now Malcolm's sins are Tommy's to bear alone." Thea said, right as Oliver's phone rang and he picked up when he saw it was Quentin.

"Quentin, what's going on?" Oliver asked.

"Your mother just walked into the SCPD and confessed to being an accessory in the Undertaking, but since Queen Consolidated hasn't acquired Unidac Industries yet, the device is a far way from being ready." Quentin said.

"Still. We'll be there as soon as we can." Oliver said as he hung up.

"Ollie, what's going on?" Thea asked.

"That was Quentin. Apparently mom just turned herself into the SCPD." Oliver said, shocking Thea just as much as it had shocked he was.

"Then let's get down to the precinct and see just how much trouble mom is in." Thea said and Oliver nodded as they rushed out of the bunker.

* * *

When Oliver and Thea entered the precinct, they found Quentin waiting for them.

"How much trouble is mom in?" Oliver asked.

"Since she came clean much sooner this time around, not as much, but she'll still likely have to face some jail time." Quentin said.

"Please tell me that you can cut a deal with her?" Thea asked.

"We have Kate Spencer on her way here now to deal with exactly that." Quentin said.

"Great. Too bad Laurel doesn't work for the DA's office." Oliver said.

"Even if she did, we both know that due to how close Laurel is with your family, if the legal system worked the way it's supposed to, she wouldn't be allowed to handle this case." Quentin said.

"Can we see her?" Thea asked.

"Right this way." Quentin said as he led them to the interrogation room where Pike was waiting.

"Lieutenant Pike. Is there any chance we could speak to our mother in private?" Oliver asked, silently relieved to see Pike alive.

"Of course." Pike said as he opened the door to let them into the room.

"Mom, what is going on?" Thea asked as she rushed up to her mother.

"After our talk Oliver, I decided that it was time I took after both of my children and stopped living in fear. By coming clean now, I can save at least 503 lives." Moira said and Oliver sighed.

"I didn't mean for you to do this." Oliver said.

"I know, this was my choice. You were right. It's not fair of me to expect anyone else to clean up the messes created by my lies, especially you two. Besides, this will force Malcolm to reveal his true colors and give you an opportunity to stop him before he destroys this city." Moira said and Oliver nodded.

"You know you'll be looking at some kind of jail time right?" Oliver asked.

"I did it before and I'll do it again." Moira said.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Thea asked.

"In the old world, I had too much blood on my hands. Time in prison now is a small price to pay if it means I can absolve that guilt." Moira said and Oliver nodded.

"I get it. I don't like it, but I get it. We'll work with Laurel and Jean to do everything we can to get you out of prison." Oliver said.

"Thank you Oliver. But please, focus more on being the people this city needs both of you to be." Moira said as the DA entered the room.

"Mrs. Steele." Kate Spencer said.

"It's Ms. Queen now. Walter and I are no longer together." Moira said.

"What happened?" Oliver asked.

"He got tired of my keeping secrets, but that's not relevant right now." Moira said.

"Agreed. What is relevant is that you've confessed to aiding and abetting in a terrorist plot that has been in motion for at least five years." Kate said.

"No offense Ms. Spencer, I think this should wait until our mother's lawyer arrives before she answers any questions." Oliver said and Kate nodded her agreement.

"It's my understanding that Ms. Loring in on her way here now." Kate said and Oliver nodded as he hoped things would turn out better this time than they had last time, while also making plans to end Malcolm as quickly as possible before he had a chance to retaliate. This time, he wouldn't let Malcolm off with a warning and he'd make sure that when he killed Malcolm, that he stayed dead.


	25. Chapter 25

Quentin was surprised when only Oliver exited the interrogation room shortly after Jean Loring had arrived.

"Oliver, where are you going?" Quentin asked, though he had an idea.

"Take a wild guess." Oliver said.

"You sure about this? The last time you did this, it didn't end well." Quentin said.

"We both know this time will have a much different outcome." Oliver said.

"I know, I just want to be sure that you're prepared to do what needs to be done." Quentin said.

"I've been waiting for this ever since I woke up in this universe. This time, I'm going to kill Malcolm and I'm going to make sure he stays dead." Oliver said.

"Surprised Thea isn't going with you." Quentin said.

"Well for one thing, she isn't Malcolm's daughter in this reality and for another, she's here to serve as protection in case Malcolm sends another assassin here." Oliver said and Quentin nodded, honestly relieved about that, since while he and the other cops were good, they wouldn't be much of a match for a League trained assassin.

"What about the rest of the team?" Quentin asked.

"They're all heading to the bunker now." Oliver said and Quentin nodded before Oliver grabbed his arm.

"Quentin, I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, you'll make sure my mother is taken care of. As in protective custody." Oliver said and Quentin nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's taken care of." Quentin promised and Oliver smiled at him.

"Thank you." Oliver said.

"Thank me by making sure Merlyn is never able to set off that machine that caused the decline of our city." Quentin said.

"Count on it." Oliver promised as he headed out.

* * *

"What's going on Oliver? Where's Thea?" Roy asked as the team gathered in the bunker.

"My mother just turned herself into the SCPD for her involvement in the Undertaking. Thea is at the precinct to offer protection." Oliver said.

"Oliver, it'll take more than Thea to protect your mom, since my dad isn't the only Dark Archer in this universe." Tommy said and Oliver sighed.

"Don't tell me, does he lead a guild?" Felicity asked her boyfriend.

"How'd you know?" Tommy asked.

"Because we've dealt with them before on the old Earth. In fact, they nearly killed me." Roy said.

"My dad formed the Thanatos Guild around the same time he started planning the Undertaking. They're his enforcers, in order to avoid any evidence being linked back to him." Tommy said.

"Okay then, we divide and conquer. Roy, Laurel, you two head to SCPD and back Thea up there. John, Tommy, Rene, you three are coming with me. We're taking the fight to Malcolm." Oliver said.

"The Thanatos Guild's headquarters is located underneath my dad's mansion." Tommy said.

"How many points of entry are there?" Oliver asked.

"Two points of entry. A secret elevator in the basement and a staircase in the garage, both of them well hidden. He spent years and billions of dollars building it and then taking care of anyone who knew about it besides the Guild." Tommy said.

"Okay then, we'll break into two teams. Tommy and I will take the elevator, John, you and Rene take the stairs, so we can block both exits." Oliver said.

"And what is our procedure should we encounter any guild members?" John asked.

"Eliminate with prejudice, but leave Malcolm to me. I'm the only one who's ever managed to kill him before and I'll do it and this time, I intend to make sure he stays dead." Oliver said.

"You sure you can do it?" Tommy asked.

"I've picked up a few tricks since your dad and I first locked horns. He's outmatched." Oliver said.

"I hope so." Tommy said.

"Let's suit up." Laurel said as Felicity headed to her workstation and the others moved to suit up.

"My suit isn't here." Tommy said.

"Actually, I had Cisco work this up for you." Oliver said as he nodded at Felicity, who pressed a button on the computers and a case next to Thea's suit opened to reveal a black version of Oliver's suit.

"Figured you should find a way to separate yourself from your father. Suit up." Oliver said with a grin as Tommy looked at his new suit appreciatively before going to suit up like the rest of them.


	26. Chapter 26

"My liege, if Moira Queen exposes the Undertaking, then everything you have worked for, everything you've built, will have been for nothing." Athena said to Malcolm as they stood in the Guild's stronghold under Malcolm's mansion.

"Which is why you are going to ensure that she cannot. It's a shame, I was very fond of Moira, but I cannot risk her exposing everything I have built." Malcolm said as another member of the Guild approached him.

"What is it?" Malcolm asked.

"We've just received word that the devices are ready. They're on their way here now." the guild member said.

"Redirect them to the proper locations. We're setting off the Undertaking immediately. Take one squad to the backup device's location. I'll have Tommy meet another squad at the primary location." Malcolm said.

"Yes my liege." the assassin said as he walked away.

"Go. You have your orders." Malcolm said to Athena.

"And you my liege, what about you?" Athena asked.

"The Green Arrow most likely already knows and he will come here for me. And when he does, I will be waiting to kill him." Malcolm said and Athena nodded as she walked away.

* * *

"We have a new problem." Tommy said as the team prepared to move out.

"What is it now?" Oliver asked.

"I just got a call from my dad. The timetable of the Undertaking is further ahead than it was in the previous universe." Tommy said.

"How much further?" Oliver asked.

"Both devices are on their way to the designated locations as we speak and he's sending his second in command Athena to deal with Moira." Tommy said.

"Thea is going to enjoy that." Roy said and Oliver nodded in agreement.

"Why?" Laurel asked.

"On the old earth, Thea and Athena were bitter rivals. I'm sure she'll love to have the opportunity to get to kill her." Oliver said and Laurel nodded.

"So, what's the plan now?" Roy asked.

"Roy, Laurel, go to SCPD in case Athena brings back up, plus Thea is going to need her gear if she wants to fight Athena without blowing her cover. Tommy, head to where your father wants you, I'm assuming your father was training you to take over the Guild?" Oliver asked and Tommy nodded.

"Yep. I can handle the members guarding the main device." Tommy said.

"Good. John, Rene, you two head to dismantle the backup device. Felicity will guide you through it." Oliver said.

"What about you?" John asked, though they all had an idea.

"I'm going after Malcolm solo. And this time, I'm gonna make sure he stays dead." Oliver said and they all nodded and Tommy didn't even seem bothered by the fact that his best friend was planning on killing his father.

"Let's move out." Oliver said as they all headed out.

* * *

When Green Arrow entered Malcolm's mansion, he found the bastard waiting for him, dressed in his Dark Archer gear.

"You don't seem very surprised to see me." Green Arrow said.

"Do you really think I wouldn't anticipate a visit from you after Moira decided to take the coward's way out and expose my plan. But then again, she is just like her husband. Weak and spineless." Malcolm said and Green Arrow growled.

"Don't you dare talk about either of them that way!" Green Arrow shouted as he aimed an arrow at him.

"Why would you care what I say about them. They're just more one percenters. Or they were before they're untimely demise." Malcolm said.

"I'm surprised you haven't put it together yet Malcolm." Green Arrow said as Malcolm got a closer look at the facial features that weren't covered by the mask and hood.

"Well, this is a surprise. But then again, I guess I should've put the pieces together. Oliver." Malcolm said.

"I know everything you've done." Green Arrow said.

"Oh really, and what exactly do you know?" Malcolm asked.

"I know that you sabotaged the Queen's Gambit because my father was going to back out of your Undertaking. You killed at least a dozen innocent people." Green Arrow said angrily.

"I'd hardly call your father an innocent man." Malcolm said.

"On that we do agree, but he's still a lot more innocent than you are." Green Arrow said.

"Debatable." Malcolm said.

"Enough of this. It's time you pay for every one of your crimes." Green Arrow said as he fired an arrow directly at the floor, causing a smoke explosion.

Malcolm barely had enough time to raise his sword as Green Arrow flung himself forward and struck with his bow meeting the blade.

"You really think that you can beat me Oliver?" Malcolm asked.

"You tell me." Green Arrow said as he quickly slugged Malcolm before he really began fighting him.

* * *

Moira was wondering where Thea had went, since her daughter had said she was going to the restroom nearly half an hour ago when the lights went out and she could hear the officers outside running around trying to figure out what happened, but she had a feeling she already knew, so she just sat back and waited for whatever was coming to happen.

And sure enough, a woman around Thea's age, dressed in familiar black garb, dropped down into the room.

"Moira Queen." Athena said.

"I'm surprised Malcolm isn't here to end me himself." Moira said.

"He's got other things to worry about. But you won't be one of them anymore." Athena said as she aimed an arrow at Moira's heart, but just before she could fire, a blue arrow knocked it away and both women turned to see Thea, dressed up as Typhoon, holding her own bow up.

"Get away from Moira Queen." Typhoon shouted, her voice modulator turned on, but that didn't conceal the anger in her voice.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Athena asked.

"You'd be surprised." Typhoon said as she collapsed her bow and unsheathed her sword.

"You want to test your blade skills against mine?" Athena asked.

"Unless you're scared." Typhoon said as Athena pulled out her own sword.

"Very well. I will end you and then her." Athena said.

"Not likely." Typhoon said as they both readied their blades and charged at each other and sparks flew as their blades clashed.

* * *

Malcolm was surprised by Oliver's skill, since he was barely managing to keep up with Oliver's skill until finally, Oliver had stolen his sword and was holding it to his throat.

"How did you get so skilled?" Malcolm asked.

"You'll never find out." Green Arrow said as he then proceeded to shove Malcolm's own sword through his chest.

"That was for my father." Green Arrow snarled as he proceeded to decapitate Malcolm.

"No coming back from that you son of a bitch." Green Arrow said as he got on the comms.

"Overwatch, Malcolm is down, please tell me the devices are disabled." Green Arrow said.

"Yeah. I talked John and Tommy through it and they're both disarmed. Haven't heard anything from Thea yet." Overwatch said.

"I'm here." Typhoon said over the comms and they could hear her panting hard.

"You okay?" Green Arrow asked.

"Better than Athena is." Typhoon said.

"Is she?" Green Arrow asked.

"Dead. She was good, but I was better." Typhoon said as she looked down at her dead opponent.

"You okay with that?" Green Arrow asked.

"Never been better. I'm heading back to the bunker." Typhoon said.

"I'll meet you there." Green Arrow said as he took one last look at his hated enemy before heading out.

* * *

"So, Malcolm's down and the Undertaking is dealt with. What now?" John asked after they all regrouped in the bunker.

"We take some time for R&R and Tommy and I clean up the mess made of our family's companies and we also prepare for Slade's arrival." Oliver said as his phone rang.

"Hello?" Oliver asked when he saw it was Barry.

"Oliver, is now a bad time?" Barry asked.

"Well, we just took down Malcolm Merlyn, so I'm in between bad guys at the moment. What can I help you with?" Oliver asked as Barry explained the ASA situation to him.

"Have Cisco open a breach to the bunker in about 20 minutes, Thea, John and I will head your way." Oliver said.

"Got it." Barry said as Oliver hung up.

"What's going on?" Thea asked.

"Barry needs our help dealing with the people who turned you into a meta in the first place. I told him you, me and John will head to Central City to help them. Laurel, you're in charge of the team here." Oliver said and they all nodded.

"We have 20 minutes to get our things together before our ride arrives, so let's go." Oliver said and Thea and John both nodded as they moved to get their things ready, since they'd all decided to keep overnight bags at the bunker in case something like this happened.


	27. Chapter 27

"So, it looks like once again, Star City has decided that mom is the one who needs to burn for the Undertaking, since Malcolm is dead." Thea said to her brother as they, plus Laurel, John, Felicity, Rene, Roy and Tommy all gathered in the bunker the day after Oliver returned from Freeland.

"I don't get it, the Undertaking didn't even happen. Oliver made sure of it when he killed my dad. You did kill him right?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, even Malcolm, with all his lives and influence can't survive losing his head." Oliver said.

"Wait, you actually cut off his head this time around?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah. And my only regret is that I didn't aim for the head the last time he and I fought." Oliver said.

"Oliver, you spared Malcolm's life out of mercy and concern for Thea. Neither of which Malcolm deserved." John said.

"It wasn't just that John." Oliver said.

"What do you mean?" Laurel asked.

"While I will admit that those were part of my actions, it was also because I honestly thought that killing Malcolm would be too merciful. I thought it would be a far more fitting punishment for him to have to continue to live, serving under Nyssa. I thought that letting Malcolm live knowing that I had taken everything he'd ever wanted away from him, again, that would be punishment enough. I was wrong, since Nyssa disbanded the League and Malcolm retaliated by bringing William into this world by telling Darhk about him." Oliver said.

"Speaking of William, are you ever going to reach out to him?" Thea asked, wanting to see her nephew again.

"I will, but not quite yet." Oliver said.

"Why not?" Laurel asked.

"Because Malcolm may be gone, but I have another pain in my ass coming who would not hesitate to bring William into this if he found out about him." Oliver said.

"Slade." John said and Oliver nodded.

"William was the only person I care about who didn't get pulled into Slade's vendetta and I'd like to keep it that way and the only way that works is if Slade doesn't find out about him, which means that I can't reach out to him, no matter how much I want to. Nyssa has also assured me that if Darhk makes a move against William, she will end him before I have a chance to." Oliver said.

"What is our plan to deal with Slade, since I'm assuming we want to avoid him killing your mom, bankrupting your family, stealing your company and nearly destroying the city." Laurel asked.

"We use his own tactics against him." Oliver said.

"What do you mean?" Thea asked.

"Slade has one vulnerability that we never thought to exploit before. This time we will. His sons." Oliver said and John caught on.

"I'll talk to Lyla, see if she can get us a lead on either Joe or Grant." John said.

"Oliver, if memory serves me, both of them turned into creeps just like their father." Rene said.

"True, but Slade still cares about both of his sons. And who knows, maybe if he sees the path he inspired his sons to go down, it might snap enough sense into him that we can disable him long enough to get the cure into his system." Oliver said.

"Why cure him. Why not kill him?" Laurel asked.

"Because Laurel, Slade was not always my enemy. He was my friend. In fact, he actually helped me save the lives of almost everyone in this room." Oliver said.

"It's true. Though he did opt to leave us on Lian Yu." Felicity said.

"Slade only follows and listens to people he trusts. Where do you think I learned it from." Oliver said.

"So you're saying that the reason Slade left us behind is because he didn't have any reason to trust us?" John asked.

"Every time before then that you guys and Slade have met, you've been on opposite sides. It took half a year for me to gain Slade's trust. If you'd earned his respect, he wouldn't have left you behind. Besides, can you honestly say that any of you would've trusted him to get you to safety?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fair point." John acknowledged and Felicity, Thea and Rene all nodded.

"Still trying to figure out why you didn't call me about that?" Roy asked.

"I had a feeling Chase would be prepared for that. Plus, I had a feeling that you and Malcolm being together would not be a combination and I was already working hard to keep him and Nyssa from killing each other." Oliver said and Roy nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so anyways, what do we do in the meantime?" Felicity asked.

"Well, Moira isn't the only feeling the heat from the Undertaking, even though it didn't work. Apparently being the son of a sociopath is not fun. Merlyn Global is starting to go under." Tommy said.

"Maybe Queen Consolidated could help?" Laurel asked, looking at Oliver, since he'd taken over the company a few days ago.

"I wish we could, QC is barely able to avoid a PR scandal due to mom's involvement in the Undertaking and I have to keep it from becoming victim to Isabel Rochev. I'm sorry Tommy. You know I would if I could." Oliver said.

"No I get it. I don't want you to risk your company either. I'll figure something out." Tommy said.

"Well, maybe Merlyn Global would benefit from a rebrand." Felicity said as she looked at her boyfriend.

"What are you talking about?" Tommy asked.

"Well, not only did I run my own company for a little while back on Earth One, but on this earth, in addition to my many PhDs, I also have a masters in business." Felicity said.

"You want to take over Merlyn Global?" Tommy asked.

"And change its name, since no offense honey, but right now, the name Merlyn is associated with a maniac who attempted to blow up half the city." Felicity said.

"It's not a bad idea. How about we compromise, we run the company together. We change the name, but we'll be partners." Tommy said.

"Deal. But on one condition, we don't let that partnership come between our relationship." Felicity said.

"Deal." Tommy said as he held out his hand, which Felicity shook with a grin.

"I guess this is the beginning of a new start for Merlyn Global." Oliver said.

"What happened to the company after the undertaking anyways?" Tommy asked.

"It went under since you and Malcolm were dead and your last name was associated with murder, so." Oliver said.

"Well, at least that won't happen now." Tommy said as he looked at his girlfriend with a grin, who grinned back at him as they continued talking.


	28. Chapter 28

"Hey, why wasn't this Dinah person here? I was really looking forward to getting to meet the woman who took up my mantle and then disgraced it." Laurel said.

"Laurel, look, I get why you're pissed at her, but honestly, thinking back on it, she really was a perfect successor for you, since you two are more alike than you realize." Oliver said.

"How? She betrayed the team and furthered the division between the team and nearly killed John and Felicity and my dad." Laurel said.

"And I seem to recall you going down a very similar path after Sara was killed." Oliver reminded her and Laurel flinched.

"Okay, fair point." Laurel said.

"Look, I will admit things got a bit messy during that time, but there was blame on both sides. If I'd actually trusted her, she never would've quit and after Vincent died, she wanted someone to hurt, I know the feeling, it's exactly how I felt after every single I loved died. Especially after you died." Oliver said and Laurel smiled.

"I suppose I should be flattered that my death is what caused you to finally put Darhk in the ground." Laurel said with a smile as they kissed.

"I should've put him down before he had a chance to touch you." Oliver said.

"What's done is done. What's important now is our decisions now." Laurel said.

"I agree. Including Dinah's." Oliver said.

"How can you be so forgiving? The Oliver Queen I know holds on to grudges." Laurel said.

"And I do. When they're worth holding onto. This one with Dinah isn't. And I'm sure that once you've worked with her, you'll see that she's a hero. But she will need a new codename." Oliver said.

"I agree, because the only reason she became the Black Canary is because I died. Well, I'm not dead anymore." Laurel said.

"I know. And very few people are more happy about that than I am." Oliver said with a smile as they kissed.

"Anyways, to answer your question, Dinah is looking for a place to crash, since she wants to have an actual apartment before she rejoins or I guess joins the SCPD." Oliver said and Laurel nodded in understanding, deciding that she'd give this Dinah a chance, but she still didn't completely trust her. Not yet.

* * *

The following day, Oliver and Thea were visiting their mother at Iron Heights.

"I was really hoping we wouldn't have to visit you here again." Oliver said to his mother.

"I knew this would happen the moment I decided to confess. And hopefully I'll be released again at my trial." Moira said.

"Mom, you have to know things are a bit different this time around since Malcolm isn't here to bribe the jury." Thea said.

"True, but there are other key differences that can work to my advantage Thea." Moira said.

"Such as?" Thea asked, but Oliver understood.

"Well for one thing, Malcolm was nothing more than a friend of Mom's, they don't have any kind of romantic history, since we've confirmed that you are dad's daughter biologically and mom confessed before anyone died. Really, the only thing she's guilty of is being an unwilling accessory to a plot conceived of by a madman that never even had a chance to succeed." Oliver said and Thea calmed down as she saw those points.

"Fair point, but will the jury see it that way?" Thea asked.

"We can only hope." Moira said.

* * *

"You sure you don't mind moving back in?" Thea asked her brother as she and Laurel helped him unload boxes from his loft back into the mansion.

"It's the best play right now. I talked to Jean Loring and she said that mom's entire defense is centered around her being a good parent who was just trying to protect her daughter. Leaving said daughter living alone while she's still 17 does not help that defense." Oliver explained and Thea nodded.

"Fair enough. But Laurel, you know you don't need to help with this right?" Thea asked.

"I want to. Besides, it might be good practice for the future." Laurel said with a smile, which Oliver returned.

"Will you two please stop playing games and just move together already?" Thea complained.

"Thea." Oliver said.

"What? It's obvious that you both want to take that step, so why don't you? I'll even take the loft if it makes it any easier." Thea said.

"We'll talk about this later." Oliver said and Laurel nodded her agreement.

"Okay, but it's clear that you need to have it and please be honest with each other when you do." Thea said.

"We'll have that talk later." Oliver said and Laurel nodded in agreement as they continued moving boxes into the mansion.


	29. Chapter 29

Tonight was Thea's 18th birthday and as opposed to her original 18th birthday party, this time, Thea had decided to have a relatively lowkey party, since she wasn't the loud obnoxious party girl she once was, she'd mellowed out a lot and she no longer felt the need to party all day and all night.

That was why tonight she'd decided on just having a nice birthday party at the mansion similar to the one they'd thrown for Oliver's last birthday in the old reality. The only people there were members or associates of Team Arrow, meaning Oliver, Laurel, John, Lyla, Roy of course, Tommy, Felicity, Quentin, Dinah and Rene.

"I have to admit, this is a lot more lowkey than your last 18th birthday bash." Laurel said to Thea as they all sat down to dinner.

"Yeah well, I don't see the need to have an outrageous party anymore. I've matured and I don't need to drink all day or do any of the other shit I used to do." Thea said with a smile.

"Cheers to that." Oliver said as they all raised their glasses.

"Surprised you're drinking." Quentin said to his daughter.

"J'onn did me an extra favor and cured my alcoholism and since none of the things that caused me to sink into it in the first happened, I should be good. I'm not saying I'm going to start drinking all the time again, but I can handle a glass of wine every once and awhile." Laurel said with a smile.

"So why didn't he do that for me?" Quentin asked.

"Probably because we used the memory gun to restore your memories while J'onn restored Laurel's memories personally." Oliver said.

"Of course." Quentin said.

"Honestly dad, I think it's better if you stay off the booze period." Laurel said.

"Fair enough." Quentin said.

"So, anyways, Ms. 18 year old, got any plans for what you're going to do besides being a vigilante after school?" Roy asked his girlfriend.

"I'm not sure. I mean, maybe I'll enroll at Star City university, but beyond that, I don't know." Thea said.

"Well, I've been waiting for the right time to tell you this and now seems like as good a time as any." Oliver said.

"Tell me what?" Thea asked.

"Last time I talked to Kara back in Freeland, she mentioned she was planning on opening up a Star City office of her paper and she told me that she wants you to run it. Apparently she heard about all the work you did as my chief of staff and she was very impressed by it." Oliver said.

"Wait, are you serious?" Thea asked.

"Completely. Go ahead and call her." Oliver said.

"I will do that tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to enjoy the fact that I am finally a legal adult again." Thea said and Oliver rolled his eyes as there was a knock on the door.

"I didn't think we were expecting anyone else." Laurel said.

"We weren't." Oliver said as he quickly grabbed a knife and headed to the door, only to relax when he opened it and saw who it was.

"Perhaps I should've called before I arrived." Nyssa said as she entered the mansion.

"It would've been nice, since I was going to stab you." Oliver said.

"Try to you mean." Nyssa said with a smirk.

"No, I mean stab you, since while you're good, we both know you're not good enough to beat me, if you were you wouldn't have needed me to kill Merlyn for you." Oliver said and Nyssa sighed.

"Fine, I'll acknowledge that, if only because I did not come here to argue." Nyssa said.

"So why did you come here? Your father is dead, you have the League, there's no reason for you to be here." Oliver said.

"Actually, there are matters that I think you should be made aware of. And of course, Thea and I did become rather close during our travels. I suppose she is the Queen I would've preferred to marry." Nyssa said with a smirk and Oliver just looked at her before shaking his head and showing her in.

"Come with me. And you know that would never happen right?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, Thea made that quite clear." Nyssa said as they entered the dining room.

"Nyssa, what are you doing here?" Thea asked as she got up and actually hugged Nyssa.

"I came to join in the celebration for my sister in arms." Nyssa said and Thea smiled.

"Why else are you here?" Thea asked as she sat back down and Laurel then hugged Nyssa.

"There are a few things I thought you should be made aware of." Nyssa said.

"Like what?" Oliver asked.

"I handed control of the league to Talia." Nyssa said.

"Wait what, why?" Oliver asked.

"After Sara gave me control of the League, I was thrilled. Then she restored my memories and I remembered how running the League was never truly my desire. But I remained in control of it until Talia returned. Running the League was always her true desire. Besides, I have a different task in front of me." Nyssa said.

"The Lazarus Pits." Thea said and Nyssa nodded.

"Talia and I agreed to keep the pit in Nanda Parbat operational, but only to be used in cases of extreme circumstances, but the others have to go. Before I left Nanda Parbat, Talia gave me two things. First, a squadron to help me on my task, since I'm sure I still have competition against the Thanatos Guild, since we can be fairly certain that Merlyn knew of the Pits too." Nyssa said.

"Why would the Guild still be interested in them?" Laurel asked.

"My guess would be the reason you were." Oliver said and Nyssa nodded.

"Athena will most likely attempt to use one of those pits to resurrect her fallen leader." Nyssa said.

"That's not happening." Tommy said.

"Agreed son of Merlyn." Nyssa said.

"What's the other reason you're here?" Thea asked.

"To give you a gift from myself and my sister." Nyssa said as she pulled out a package and handed it to Thea.

However, before Thea could accept it, Oliver noticed gas starting to fill the room.

"Everyone get down." Oliver shouted as guys in tactical gear entered the room as everyone else was knocked out.

"Waller is dead." Oliver growled before finally passed out.


	30. Chapter 30

When Oliver came to, he groaned as he got up to find everyone else in a similar state.

"What the hell was that?" John asked.

"That was Amanda Waller crashing Thea's birthday party, though why she'd do that is beyond me, since she knows I'm still pissed about Hong Kong." Oliver said.

"Actually, I think I can guess, since look who isn't here anymore." Felicity said.

"Thea and Laurel." Quentin said.

"Both of our metahuman field players. I thought that Waller would know better than to abduct my girlfriend and sister." Oliver said.

"I'm guessing this means we're not going to wait for Shadowspire to kill her this time around?" John asked.

"Nope. This time, I'm going to kill her myself." Oliver said.

"So, what's the plan? Besides storm Argus?" Lyla asked.

"Lyla, are you sure you want to be involved in this?" Oliver asked her.

"Waller is my boss. You guys are my friends. Hell, some of you have even become family and I'm not just talking about John. Oliver, you helped put our family back together, since let's face it, I don't think John and I ever would've gotten married if it weren't for you." Lyla said.

"I'm flattered that you think that, but you two would have found your way back together eventually. Just like Laurel and I did." Oliver said.

"True, but Oliver, you definitely helped speed things up by helping me find closure with Lawton, since honestly, now that I know the kind of man Andy really was, not to mention the man Lawton was and still is." John said.

"Yeah, and Lawton isn't the only member of the Suicide Squad that we saw redeem himself." Oliver said, thinking of Ben Turner.

"Anyways, maybe we should get back to the mission at hand." Quentin said.

"We're storming the Argus HQ." Oliver said.

"We know that, but what's the plan?" Dinah asked.

"Well for one thing, we're going to show Waller she didn't take all our metas." Oliver said as he looked at Dinah and Felicity.

"We're both going?" Felicity asked and Oliver nodded.

"Once we're in, Lyla, I want you to get Felicity down to the Suicide Squad's holding center." Oliver said.

"Wait, what?" Felicity asked.

"You're the only who can deactivate their bomb implants, since there's a chance Waller will end up trying to deploy them to counter us, but if we disable those bombs." Oliver said.

"Then she's got nothing on them." John said.

"Exactly. We might even get them to join us for this fight." Oliver explained.

"Do you think that Waller would hold Laurel and Thea at Argus HQ? She may have been dumb enough to pull this stunt, but do you really think that she'd hold them in such an obvious place?" Dinah asked.

"Unlikely, but Argus HQ has access to all of Argus's files. Easiest way to find them is to get access." Oliver said and they nodded as they continued working out a plan.

* * *

"What is the status of the transport of my newest assets?" Waller asked one of her agents as she stood in the command center of Argus HQ.

"They are on their way to the facility, but ma'am, I have to ask, was it really worth the risk. You know Oliver Queen will come here for you." the agent said.

"And I am already prepared for that contingency. After all, I know for a fact that there are few things Oliver Queen values or cares more for than his family. Now, resume fortifying this base. I know Oliver and his team will get past them, but it will buy us time to prepare." Waller said and the agent nodded as he got back to work.


	31. Chapter 31

"Okay Oliver, where are our suits?" John asked when they entered the bunker to find all the mannequins empty.

"This was supposed to wait until tomorrow, but I guess now will do." Oliver said as he walked up to the console and picked up a black box and walked back over to the others.

"Cisco finally came through on this." Oliver said as he opened the box to reveal 8 gold rings in it, each with a different insignia and background color on it.

"What are these?" Rene asked.

"Remember how Barry was able to carry his suit around without being detected?" Oliver asked as he picked up the ring an arrow insignia on an emerald background and slid it on.

"Shut up. But I thought that Barry's powers were a part of the requirement for that to work." Rene said.

"Cisco found a way to make them so that they don't require powers to operate." Oliver said as each member guessed which ring was theirs and picked them up and slid them on.

John's ring had a helmet insignia that looked similar to his helmet on it on a black background. Roy's was identical to Oliver's except it had a red background. Rene's had a dog face insignia on it with a navy background. Tommy's had a sword on black background on it, leaving three rings left in the box.

"Dinah, are you going to take your ring?" Oliver asked.

"Which one is mine?" Dinah asked, since while she doubted the one with a wave design on it with a blue background was her's, there were two other rings, each with what looked like a canary insignia on it, though each one was slightly different. One had a black background on it and the other silver.

"Laurel is the Black Canary. It's her mantle and honestly, having two black canaries could prove to be a bit confusing. Besides, you deserve to have your own mantle. You're still a canary, just not the Black Canary." Oliver said as Dinah picked up the silver ring.

"Let me guess, Silver Canary?" Dinah asked.

"Cisco picked it, not me, but I do admit, it is catchy and silver is a mix of black and white, the other two canaries." Oliver said with a smile, which Dinah shared.

"I like it. So, do I get the same costume, just in a different color?" Dinah asked.

"Only one way to find out." Oliver said as Dinah slid the ring on.

"So, how do we turn these on?" Rene asked as Oliver checked and saw Cisco left a note.

"Tap the emblem and then think about wearing our suits." Oliver said.

"Seriously?" John asked as Oliver shrugged and did what the note said and then light emitted from the ring, warping around Oliver until he was wearing his Green Arrow suit.

"Okay, that was cool." Rene said.

"Honestly, it kind of looked like how J'onn did when he shapeshifted." Oliver said.

"Okay, I'm definitely going to have to talk to Cisco about how he pulled that off, because it was very cool. But for right now, you guys should suit up and head to Argus." Felicity said.

"You're not coming?" Dinah asked.

"I was going before I remembered that Argus is power dampened, which means that my powers won't work there, so I am of more use here." Felicity said.

"You don't need your powers to be of value in the field Felicity. Once we get into Argus, Lyla, John, you two are going to get Felicity to the computer hub so she can shut down the power dampeners, Dinah, Rene, I want you two to head to the detention center." Oliver said.

"Okay why?" Rene asked and Oliver smirked.

"So, to quote Nysssa, you're going to let the animals out of their cages. Cause a distraction and weaken Waller's forces by forcing them to divert a part of their efforts to restoring peace." Oliver said.

"Nothing causes a distraction like a good old fashioned jail break." Rene smirked.

"Roy, Tommy, Nyssa, I want you three to search the compound for any sign of Laurel or Thea." Oliver said.

"And if we encounter any resistance?" Nyssa asked.

"Disable and knock out only. These are agents just following orders and we don't know which ones are actually loyal to Waller." Oliver said.

"Speaking of Waller, I'm assuming that's what you'll be dealing with?" John asked Oliver.

"She'll likely be prepared for me, with her top commandos to try and protect her." Oliver said.

"And how long will it take you to take them down?" Nyssa asked.

"Depends on how much trouble they give me and how long they have before I decide I'm going easy. But one thing is clearly going to happen by the end of the night." Oliver said.

"Waller's going to die." John said.

"And this time, I'm going to be the one who kills her. I should've done it in the old earth and I'm going to do it in this one." Oliver said and they all nodded as they suited up and moved out towards Argus.


	32. Chapter 32

By the time Team Arrow arrived at Argus, they found that Waller had wasted no time in fortifying her defenses, if the army of troops waiting for them was any indication.

"Stand down. That's an order." Lyla said.

"We no longer take orders from you Ms. Michaels. Waller said that you've been discharged and are to be prosecuted for treason." the lead agent said.

"Yeah, wrong answer." Green Arrow said as he fired an explosive arrow into the crowd and when it detonated, the troops were forced to scatter.

"Attack." The agent ordered as they charged to meet Team Arrow, but it quickly became clear that despite Argus's superior numbers, it was clear that Team Arrow, plus Nyssa, had superior skills.

"Canary, clear the way." Green Arrow said.

"Gladly." Silver Canary said as she unleashed her sonic cry, sending troops flying backwards as Team Arrow fought their way to the base entrance.

"What happened to stealth?" Wild Dog asked.

"No point in it since Waller had to have known we were coming the moment she took Laurel and Thea." Green Arrow said.

"So, why aren't we going in?" Hunter, ever the newbie, asked.

"This is too easy. Waller had to know that putting standard troops in our way wouldn't stop us. She knows that I could take them out alone in a matter of minutes." Green Arrow said.

"So you think she has something else planned?" Spartan asked.

"Wouldn't put it past her." Green Arrow said as he tried to move closer to the building, only to get his hand shocked.

"What the hell?" Green Arrow asked.

"It looks like some kind of energy shield. If it weren't keeping us from entering the building our friends are trapped in I'd be geeking out right now." Overwatch said.

"Too bad we don't have a way around it." Wild Dog said.

"Call Cisco, see if he can get us through." Green Arrow said and Overwatch quickly pulled out her phone and made the call, but no luck.

"Voicemail, he must be busy." Overwatch said and Green Arrow sighed.

"Guess we'll have to find another way through." Green Arrow sighed.

"We'll find a way in. But how did Waller manage to pull this off? Argus never had an energy shield before." Spartan said.

"I don't know, Waller never told me she was developing it. Which means it's likely not something that's sanctioned." Lyla said.

"Overwatch, do you think you make us an extrapolator?" Green Arrow asked.

"No, but we might not need it." Overwatch said.

"What do you mean?" Silver Canary asked, but before Overwatch could respond, GreenArrow began firing arrows around them.

"What are you doing?" Nyssa asked.

"Taking out security cameras. Don't want Waller listening in on us." Green Arrow said and they nodded.

"What were you saying Overwatch?" Spartan asked.

"Unless things have changed in this universe, doesn't every Argus facility have secret underground tunnels?" Overwatch asked and Lyla caught on.

"They do and Waller likely wouldn't think that you'd know about that. However, my security clearance has likely been revoked." Lyla said.

"Good thing we don't need it. But we'll need a distraction to keep Waller's attention away from the tunnels." Green Arrow said.

"What do you have in mind?" Hunter asked.

"Hunter, Silver Canary, Nyssa and Wild Dog, head to the garage and back exit, make as much noise as you can. Lyla will take Overwatch, Arsenal, Spartan and I through the tunnels into the base, at which point we'll split up. Overwatch and Lyla will head to the computer hub to disable the power dampeners and now to shut down the forcefield, Spartan and Arsenal will be on rescue of our teammates and I'll go after Waller." Green Arrow ordered and they all nodded in agreement before splitting up.

* * *

"Ma'am, all surveillance cameras around the main gate have been disabled and the guards there are not responding." the agent said to Waller.

"What about the other entrances?" Waller asked, right as alarms sounded.

"It looks like his team has divided. One group is hitting the garage and the other is hitting the south exit." the agent said as they pulled up security footage.

"He's not at either fight. Where are you Oliver?" Waller asked, right as new alarms blared.

"What is that?" Waller asked.

"Ma'am, it would appear that another team has managed to enter the facility through the tunnel network." the agent said.

"Of course, I should've posted guards down there. Send in the commandos immediately." Waller said.

"Yes ma'am." the agent said as Waller tried to hide her nervousness from the others, since it was clear that she'd been depending on that shield to keep Oliver out, so now she'd just have to hope that the leverage she'd acquired would be enough to keep Oliver at bay, right as the door to command center was blown off its hinges and the Green Arrow entered, aiming his bow directly at Waller.

"Hello Oliver." Waller said.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't come for you after taking my girlfriend and my sister hostage?" Green Arrow asked.

"Of course not. Luckily, I was prepared." Waller said.

"Your shield didn't work." Green Arrow said.

"Do you really think that is all I'd use to protect myself. While I know that your associates are likely searching for Laurel Lance and Thea Queen, I do have other leverage to use against you." Waller said.

"Really?" Green Arrow asked incredulously as Waller moved over to a computer and typed something, Oliver's bow never leaving her.

"I believe these two might make you reconsider." Waller said as she worked.

"What are you talking about? You know my team is searching for Thea and Laurel." Green Arrow said.

"Yes, but I wasn't talking about them. But you see, you and Maseo Yamashiro share a weakness." Waller said as Green Arrow got a bad feeling in his gut.

"What sort of weakness." Green Arrow asked as Waller turned the screen around and he nearly fired his arrow then and there when he saw who it was.

"You'll both do anything to protect your sons and their mothers." Waller said as Oliver watched Samantha and William Clayton sitting in an Argus prison cell and Waller smirking smugly at him.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

"Now, now Oliver, that information comes at a price." Waller said, only to have Oliver fire an arrow into her leg.

"Not as high a price as you'll pay if you don't tell me where they are." Green Arrow demanded.

"You're going to kill me either way aren't you?" Waller asked as she tried not to show how much pain she was in.

"Yes, but you can decide how painful it is. You saw what I did to Matthew Shrieve after what happened to Akio. Imagine what I am going to do to you for this." Green Arrow said.

"The only way I'll give you that information is if you let me go." Waller said, right as Green Arrow ran out of patience and put an arrow in her head, since he knew she had no heart to shoot.

"Overwatch, do you read me?" Green Arrow asked over the comms.

"I read you, what is it?" Overwatch asked.

"William is here. I repeat, Waller pulled a Prometheus." Green Arrow said.

"I'll start looking for him right now." Overwatch said as the entire team was horrified that Waller would bring an innocent child into this.

"Let me know as soon as you find him. Waller is dead, so I'm going to start my own search. That is, unless anyone in here wants to try and stop me." Green Arrow said, looking around the command center and all of them wisely did nothing, since they could tell that despite their superior numbers, it was a fight they would not win, before he headed out to find his son and Samantha.


	33. Chapter 33

"I still can't believe Waller had the nerve to abduct us." Thea said as she walked around the cell Waller had locked her and Laurel in, right as they heard alarms blare.

"Well, it sounds like we won't be locked up much longer." Laurel said with a smirk, right as the door opened to reveal Spartan and Arsenal there.

"Thank god." Thea said as she kissed her boyfriend as Laurel hugged John.

"Sorry for the delay, but Overwatch has disabled the power dampeners and you two are going to need these." Spartan said as he handed each of them a ring.

"Cisco finally cracked it. But aren't we getting out of here now?" Laurel asked.

"Not yet. Oliver, we found Thea and Laurel." Spartan said over the comms.

"Great, keep searching the detention level, I'm on my way down there now." Green Arrow said as he fired arrows mercilessly into any Argus agent that was stupid enough to get his way, since right now, he was so angry he thought he was literally seeing red.

"Okay, Ollie sounded angrier than I have heard him in years. What's going on?" Thea asked as she and Laurel slid their rings on and activated their suits.

"You two weren't the only people Waller abducted." Arsenal said.

"Who else did she take?" Black Canary asked.

"The one person Oliver would do anything for." Spartan said and Tsunami covered her mouth in shock.

"William?" she asked and Arsenal nodded.

"He and Samantha are somewhere in this facility and we're not leaving without them." Arsenal said.

"I knew Waller was crazy, but I didn't think she was that suicidal." Tsunami said.

"Come on, we need to find William before one of Waller's goons does something they'll regret. Mainly by making Oliver kill them." Spartan said as they got to work.

* * *

"Mom, are we going to be okay?" William asked his mother as they sat on the hard bench in the cell they'd been forced into after they'd been taken by whoever these people were.

"Yes sweetie, we'll be fine." Samantha said, though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that.

"Why did these people take us?" William asked.

"I don't know sweetheart. I don't know why they did, but we just have to hope that someone will find us." Samantha said, right as they heard someone, likely their guard yelling at someone, then they heard shots fired and then a loud thud.

"What was that?" William asked, gripping his mother's arm tightly as the door opened, but he immediately relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Whoa, you're the Green Arrow." William said.

"Are you two okay?" Green Arrow asked.

"Yeah we're fine, thanks to you." Samantha said, though she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about him.

"Let's get you both out of here." Green Arrow said as he grabbed both their hands and suddenly, both Samantha and William got massive headaches as they both got memory flashes and realized why the Green Arrow seemed so familiar.

"Oliver." Samantha said and she had to give him credit, he didn't even flinch.

"That's not my name." Green Arrow said.

"And there was a time I would've believed that. But considering that this is the third time you've saved William, that I know of at least." Samantha said, causing him to look at them.

"Wait what?" Green Arrow asked.

"I don't know how, but I remember everything that happened before I died. And that I died." Samantha said.

"I remember everything too. Including how we left things." William said, a bit uncomfortable.

"We'll discuss that, among other things later. Right now, I don't know how you two remember and I really can't afford to try and figure it out now. Right now, I need to get you both out of here." Green Arrow said.

"Please do." Samantha said as they headed outside, only to see about a dozen Argus commandos running towards them.

"Samantha, take William back into the cell and don't let him out until I say so. I don't want him to see this." Green Arrow said.

"And I don't think I want him to see it." Samantha agreed, though William was disappointed that he wouldn't get to see his dad kick ass again.

"Freeze." A commando said as Samantha practically dragged William back into the cell.

"I'm only going to ask this once. Are you sure you want to do this?" Green Arrow asked.

"We have you outnumbered." the same commando said.

"But you're outmatched." Green Arrow said.

"Really, all of us against you?" another commando asked and Green Arrow just smirked.

"Trust me, that won't be enough. Especially since I'm not planning on taking prisoners." Green Arrow said as he began firing arrows at the commandos and they were all quickly wishing they'd heeded his warning, since they quickly realized that they were no match for the Green Arrow.

* * *

When Spartan, Arsenal, Black Canary and Tsunami arrived, they found that Green Arrow had already taken out all of the commandos.

"Oh come on, you couldn't have saved one for us?" Tsunami complained and her brother grinned.

"Nice to see you're both okay." Green Arrow said as he hugged his sister and then his girlfriend.

"Where are William and Samantha?" Spartan asked.

"In the cell, I put them back in it because I didn't want William to see what I was going to do." Green Arrow said.

"Smart." Spartan said.

"And one other thing, somehow, both he and Samantha remember the old reality." Green Arrow said.

"How is that possible?" Black Canary asked.

"I don't know and we can figure it out later. Right now we need to get them out of here." Green Arrow said as they all nodded.

"We've secured the hostages and Waller is dead. All teams fall back to the bunker." Green Arrow said over the comms and he quickly heard affirmatives as he gave Samantha the all clear to come out of the cell and he and his team led them out of the base.

* * *

To say Rene, Dinah, Felicity, Lyla, Tommy and Nyssa were shocked when William and Samantha entered the bunker with Oliver, Dig, Laurel and Thea was an understatement.

"Okay, why did you bring two strangers, including a kid, into our secret bunker?" Rene asked.

"It's okay Rene. They remember everything." Oliver said.

"William?" Felicity asked.

"Hey Felicity. So I hear that you're not the one dating dad in this reality." William said, since Oliver had told him about that on the way to the bunker so that he'd be prepared, and Felicity smiled.

"Yeah, what can I say buddy, your dad and I may have loved each other, but we love other people more. He loves Laurel and I love Tommy." Felicity said and William smiled.

"You always were more like a cool aunt anyways." William said and Felicity smiled.

"Speaking of aunts, I don't think you've given your real one a hug yet." Thea said with a grin as her nephew finally hugged her.

"How is this even possible?" Dinah asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that I grabbed their hands when I found them and then somehow that caused them to remember." Oliver said.

"We'll figure it out. For now, let's just enjoy." Felicity said and they all nodded.

* * *

That night, Oliver was standing in front of his suit alone in the bunker since everyone else had left when he heard someone else behind him.

"I believe I can fill in the blanks." a new voice said and Oliver turned to see Mar Novu standing in the bunker.

"What do you want?" Oliver asked.

"To answer your questions and also to warn you." Novu said.

"Okay, that's never good, warn us about what?" Oliver asked.

"Your fight is not over Oliver Queen." Novu said.

"It never is." Oliver said.

"You misunderstand. If you could survive the dawn of time, then." Novu said and a horrible realization dawned on Oliver.

"The Anti-Monitor survived too." Oliver said and Novu nodded.

"Fortunately, Mobius was not able to heal as you did, since his anti matter universe was unaffected by the merging of the multiverse. He is still recovering and does not have the strength to attack yet." Novu said.

"When will he have the strength to attack?" Oliver asked.

"I do not yet know, but you and the other heroes have time to prepare for his return." Novu said.

"Brilliant. Now, as long as you're here, can you explain how Samantha and William remember everything?" Oliver asked.

"You inadvertently restored their memories." Novu said.

"How?" Oliver asked.

"It appears that you still retain a limited amount of spectre energy." Novu said.

"That shouldn't be possible. I thought the spectre had to be dead in order to receive those powers." Oliver said.

"Which is why you do not have access to the infinite amount of power you did before, since the human body can only handle a limited amount of spectre energy. And that energy will run out and when it does, you won't have any left. I advise you to use it sparingly, since there is a good chance you will need it in the fight that is coming." Novu said.

"Okay then, I agree, I really don't like relying on powers anyways and the price to get those was too high." Oliver said.

"Oliver, while you can tell your team what is happening, since with what is coming, you will all need to prepare, but you cannot tell the other paragons. I will inform them when the time is right for each of them to know." Novu said and Oliver nodded.

"I understand." Oliver said.

"Speaking of the paragons, there is one more thing that you need to be aware of." Novu said.

"What is that?" Oliver asked.

"This new reality has created two new paragons. One of them is the true paragon of truth, the other a new paragon all together, the paragon of justice. And had she been at your side before, you might've been able to survive and stop the destruction of the old multiverse. She is the only one you can tell of this new crisis." Novu said.

"And who is she and why have we not heard of her before if she's such a game changer?" Oliver asked.

"The reason her existence was not known is because she was dead when the crisis occurred and my powers were too weak to restore her." Novu said as Oliver began to realize who the paragon of justice was.

"That's why she was the one who was brought back and not her doppelganger isn't it?" Oliver asked and Novu nodded.

"The paragon of justice is Laurel Lance." Novu said before he vanished.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked that chapter, I know it was long, but I had a lot I wanted to fit into it. I don't know when I'm actually going to have the Anti Monitor return, but it likely won't be for a while and it will be a separate story, so please, don't ask me about that, since it will just delay it more. I have several arcs in the individual stories I want to do first, but I also wanted to make it clear that the anti monitor was not gone for good. I did get ideas for this chapter from Arrowversefan833 and I did have their permission to use them. Please be patient and I will get to everything as soon as I can.**


	34. Chapter 34

"So what you're saying is that the Monitor showed up last night and told you that the reason Samantha and William remember everything is because you apparently still have powers from when you were the Spectre?" John asked after Oliver brought him and the rest of the team up to speed.

"Yes. He also told me that my powers are limited now, since a living human can't sustain the unlimited power of the spectre, not that I'm complaining since I have no interest in dying again any time soon. He also told me that our fight against the Anti-Monitor isn't over yet, but he did tell me that we have time before he returns to prepare." Oliver said.

"Did he tell you anything else?" Thea asked.

"Actually yes, he told me part of the reason why we failed to stop Crisis from consuming the original multiverse is because we didn't have all the right paragons. In fact, we were short one." Oliver said.

"Who?" Laurel asked as Oliver turned to face her.

"You." Oliver said.

"What?" Laurel asked.

"Novu told me that you Laurel, are the paragon of justice, which we didn't have last time. He said that's why you were the one brought to this earth and not your earth 2 doppelganger." Oliver said.

"It makes sense, after all, Laurel has spent her entire life fighting for justice, first as a lawyer and now as the Black Canary." Thea said and Oliver nodded.

"My thoughts exactly." Oliver said.

"So what do we do now?" Roy asked.

"We keep doing what we're doing. I'm not putting the city's safety on hold, since there needs to be a city left to save. But I can think of a few uses for my spectre powers besides using them in the final crisis." Oliver said.

"Like what?" Thea asked as Lyla joined them in the bunker and before she could say anything, Oliver touched her arm.

"What did you do to me?" Lyla asked.

"Novu showed up last night and told me that the Anti Monitor is going to return, so I restored your powers as Harbinger, since we're going to need every asset we can get in that fight." Oliver explained and Lyla nodded.

"How did you do that?" Lyla asked.

"I still have a residual amount of energy left over from when I was spectre." Oliver said and Lyla nodded.

"Speaking of acquiring assets, I got that information you asked for." Lyla said as she handed Oliver a flash drive.

"Thank you." Oliver said.

"What's that?" Laurel asked.

"Everything I could find in Argus's files regarding Deathstroke and Dante." Lyla said.

"Who's Dante?" Laurel asked.

"Second in command of an ancient terrorist organization called the Ninth Circle. They're around as old the League of Assassins and they've been linked to financing other terrorist circles around the globe and they're even more secretive than the League." John said.

"Then how do you know about them?" Laurel asked.

"Because my sister is their current leader." Oliver said.

"Wait what?" Laurel asked.

"Our mom wasn't the only one who had an affair. Robert had one with a woman named Kazumi Adachi and they had a daughter Emiko. When mom found out, she freaked and forced dad to essentially abandon them or she'd take everything from him, us, his company, everything." Thea said.

"Wow. Just when I thought I knew all the skeletons in your family's closet." Laurel said.

"Imagine how I felt when I found out. Emiko was forced to join the Ninth Circle to help herself and her mom get by and she was trained to be just as skilled as I am." Oliver said.

"Yeah, she even put on his hood for a bit after Oliver went to prison." Rene added.

"Wow." Laurel said.

"But that's not the end of the story. Despite everything, Emiko still tried to get our dad to approve of her, but he wouldn't give Queen Consolidated to her, so she grew angry and she began hating our entire family." Oliver said.

"And she's actually just as guilty of what happened with the Gambit as Malcolm is." John said.

"Meaning what?" Laurel asked.

"Emiko knew that the Gambit was sabotaged and she had a chance to warn dad about it before it went down, but she didn't." Oliver said.

"Okay then, sounds like she isn't exactly a hero like her siblings. Guess that gene comes from your mom." Laurel said.

"Actually, while I was pissed when I found out, now I'm kind of glad she didn't, since if she'd warned dad, then none of this would've happened. If I hadn't had gotten on the Gambit, then I never would've had the chance to become the person I am now." Oliver said.

"Still." Laurel said.

"She's not all bad. She died redeeming herself." Oliver said.

"I'll take your word for it. If you're willing to trust her, then I will too." Laurel said.

"And I'm assuming that Emiko is not the only former villain we're going to be recruiting to help in the fight against the Anti Monitor." John asked and Oliver nodded.

"Once I find him, we'll add Slade to that list too." Oliver said.

"Wait what? This Emiko is one thing, but how can you even think about working with Slade after what he did?" Laurel asked him.

"Because I know that under that Mirakuru rage is the man I once called my brother." Oliver said.

"Are you sure about that?" Laurel asked.

"As surprised as I am to say it, I have to agree with Ollie. Slade did show us a different side of himself the last time we saw him." Thea said.

"Once the cure had time to work fully, I saw the man Slade once was. And that is a man that we need to have on our side if we're going to stop this crisis once and for all." Oliver said.

"I'm sorry, who is this Slade guy and what did he do?" Tommy asked, reminding them all that he'd been dead when everything with Slade had happened.

"Slade Wilson is one of my best friends, but right now, he's my greatest enemy, probably the only one I've ever truly been afraid of." Oliver said as he brought Tommy up to speed on Slade as Nyssa joined them.

"Nyssa, I thought you'd left already." Oliver said to her.

"I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Besides, Thea never opened her present and Talia insisted that I was here when she did." Nyssa said as she handed the package to Thea, who opened it and now understood why Talia wanted her to have it.

"A sword?" Rene asked.

"That's not just any sword. That sword belonged to the League's founder Al-Faith." Oliver said.

"And now it belongs to Thea." Nyssa said.

"This sword belongs to the League's leader." Thea said as she tried to hand back to Nyssa, who refused.

"You won it in combat, your claim to it is strongest. Neither Talia or myself would feel right holding it." Nyssa said and Thea sighed, but nodded as she placed the sword down.

"Now, Mr. Merlyn, have you made your decision?" Nyssa asked.

"I have." Tommy said.

"What decision?" Felicity asked.

"Nyssa asked me to help her take down the Thanatos Guild and destroy the pits. And I have decided to go with her, for the same reason Oliver wears that hood. To atone for my father's crimes." Tommy said.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Felicity asked her boyfriend.

"It's not forever and this is something I need to do. No one knows the Guild better than I do, considering I was once a part of it. Besides, Star City doesn't need me here right now." Tommy said.

"I could go with you." Felicity said, but Tommy shook his head.

"No Lic, you're needed here. But I promise, I will come back to you." Tommy said and Felicity sighed.

"Just promise me you'll call." Felicity said and Tommy nodded.

"I've transferred sole ownership of Smoak Technologies to you." Tommy said as he cupped Felicity's cheeks and kissed her.

"I'll make sure he comes back to you alive Ms. Smoak." Nyssa said.

"You better Nyssa. Because if you don't, Felicity won't be the only one you have to worry about." Oliver said and Nyssa nodded as Tommy hugged Oliver, then Laurel and then Thea before they left the bunker.

"Okay guys, let's get back to work." Oliver said, since while he was sad to see Tommy go, he knew that they had work to do.

They all nodded as they moved to do exactly that.


	35. Chapter 35

That afternoon found Oliver and Thea sitting at Iron Heights, both of them dressed like they did when Oliver was mayor and Thea was his chief of staff, alongside Jean Loring as they waited for the guards to bring their mother out.

"So, how much longer until they bring mom out? We've had this meeting scheduled for weeks." Thea complained, right as the guards finally brought Moira out to see them.

"Sorry about that." Moira said as she had the cuffs removed by the guard and she moved to sit down with them.

"It's fine, how are you holding up?" Oliver asked.

"I've been holding up okay." Moira said and Oliver sighed.

"Jean, how much of a chance does mom have of getting off?" Oliver asked their lawyer.

"Well, they could be worse. It helps that no one died and that she has proof that Malcolm blackmailed her into being a part of the Undertaking." Jean said.

"So, you think there's a shot at her being released?" Thea asked.

"Maybe, but there is the matter of the riots and panic that her warning caused in the Glades. Not to mention, with Malcolm Merlyn being confirmed dead, the city is going to want to throw someone on the bonfire for it." Jean said.

"So you're saying it could go either way?" Thea asked.

"Yes. But there's also the fact that Moira is a part of the one percenters in this city, a part of this city's population that is rarely held accountable for their actions, so the judge might try to use her as an example." Jean said.

"That's BS, our mother may have done some things wrong, but she didn't have a choice and it's because of her the damage wasn't worse." Oliver said.

"Believe me Oliver, I'm aware of that, I am just letting you know what to expect." Jean said and Oliver nodded as his phone rang.

"I'm sorry I need to take this." Oliver said as he got up and answered it.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Oliver, hey, is now a bad time?" Samantha asked.

"Kind of. I'm at Iron Heights in a meeting about my mom's trial." Oliver said.

"I'm sorry, I forgot Moira was still in prison at this time." Samantha said.

"It's fine, but hopefully the first time William meets his grandmother on my side won't be while she's still in Iron Heights." Oliver said.

"Anyways, the reason I called is because I wanted to tell you that William and I are moving back to Star City and when we do, I plan on submitting papers to give you partial custody of our son." Samantha said.

"Wait what?" Oliver asked.

"I was wrong before. Every boy needs his father, especially when he knows who his father is and honestly, you're the kind role model I want around him. Plus, he told me about what happened before and I reminded him that the reason you were raising him is because it's what I wanted and we both know that while it won't be easy, he's going to try harder to meet you halfway, since I know that you did your best." Samantha said.

"Thank you, but I think it's best if William lives with you and he just visits me on weekends." Oliver said.

"We'll discuss it more after we actually move." Samantha said.

"Let me know if you need any help." Oliver said.

"I will. We're coming up there next week to do some house hunting." Samantha said.

"You two can stay with me at the mansion while you're here. Tell William I can't wait to see him again, this time under better circumstances." Oliver said.

"I know he's looking forward to it too and I'm not just saying that." Samantha said and Oliver chuckled.

"I need to go. I'll see you both when you get here next week." Oliver said as he hung up the phone and reentered the room to find that Jean had left.

"Where's Jean?" Oliver asked.

"Well, there wasn't really anything more we needed to discuss with her, but I wanted to speak with the two of you." Moira said and Oliver smiled.

"About what?" Oliver asked.

"Just your lives. Thea, I'm so sorry I missed your graduation." Moira said.

"It's fine mom, it's not like you wouldn't have been there if you could. But I do have some good news. I've already got a lead on a great job." Thea said.

"Really, what is it?" Moira asked.

"Thea is going to be running the new Star City branch of Danvers Daily News." Oliver said proudly.

"Wow, how'd you get that?" Moira asked.

"The owner of the paper, Kara Danvers, is an old friend from before the Crisis. She heard about Thea's work when she was my chief of staff and I guess she thought it would be a good fit for her." Oliver said and Moira smiled.

"Well congratulations Thea. That's quite an opportunity for you." Moira said.

"Yeah, I start training for it in Central City next week." Thea said.

"I thought it was National City." Oliver said.

"Kara called me and said that she has a family emergency, so she's having me go out to Central City to shadow Iris until she gets back, then I'm going to National City." Thea said.

"Well I'm proud of you. And what about you Oliver?" Moira asked.

"Things are going well at Queen Consolidated." Oliver said.

"I know that. We do get the news in here in case you've forgotten. I'm glad to see that you've managed to be a better CEO now." Moira said and Oliver chuckled.

"So what did you mean?" Oliver asked.

"How are things going between you and Laurel?" Moira asked.

"They're going great. It helps that she knows about William." Oliver said.

"I am sorry I kept you from him by the way." Moira said.

"I've come to terms with it." Oliver said.

"So, think you're going to pop the question to her yet?" Moira asked.

"I don't know. The last time Laurel and I got anywhere close to that, the Queen's Gambit happened." Oliver said.

"Ollie, I get that, but I also remember when we were in the Dominators fantasy world, your greatest wish was to marry Laurel. Maybe it's time you make that a reality." Thea said.

"Maybe." Oliver said and Moira smiled.

"What about you Thea? Are you still seeing Roy?" Moira asked.

"I am, though I think Roy and I are still a little young to think about marriage." Thea said.

"Good." Oliver said and both Moira and Thea rolled their eyes as they continued talking until their time was up and Moira was escorted back into the cellblock and Oliver and Thea left the prison as well.


	36. Chapter 36

"Felicity, I need a favor." Oliver said as he called her as he walked into his office at Queen Consolidated.

"Yeah what is it?" Felicity asked.

"I need you to run background checks on all the members of the Queen Consolidated board, since Slade is smart enough to have already embedded someone in the company's board in the event Isabel couldn't, since I've given security very strict instructions that she is not to be allowed on the premises." Oliver said.

"I'm also working on exposing her past to get her not only fired from Stellmoor International, but also arrested for her crimes, since her name is on the list." Felicity said.

"How did I not notice that before?" Oliver asked him.

"You were blinded by her pretty face." Felicity teased him and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Very funny. But will you just do it?" Oliver asked.

"Relax, I'm on it. I've also discovered something interesting about the city council that I think you'll find interesting." Felicity said.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"I think I may have discovered why Pollard was so intent on taking vigilante down." Felicity said.

"Really?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, it would appear that Pollard wasn't so much trying to keep the city safe from vigilantes as much as she was trying to keep her own criminal activities hidden." Felicity said and Oliver just chuckled and shook his head.

"Should've known. Guess Vigilante was right about her after all. Why didn't we ever look into this before?" Oliver asked.

"Probably because vigilantes going after the council member who was behind the anti vigilante law probably would not have helped our case." Felicity said and Oliver chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess not. Send the evidence to Quentin, since knowing Pollard, she's likely trying to propose the anti vigilante law right now." Oliver said.

"On it." Felicity said, right as Oliver got another call.

"Sorry I'm getting another call." Oliver said as he switched over.

"Hello." Oliver asked.

"Oliver." Quentin said.

"Quentin, what's going on?" Oliver asked.

"It would appear that your pal Wilson is setting his plot in motion." Quentin said.

"Oh god, what did he do?" Oliver asked.

"Turn on the news and you'll find out that there was a bombing at City Hall this morning, specifically targeting the mayor's office." Quentin said.

"Oh god, how many died?" Oliver asked.

"Basically the city's entire leadership, the mayor, deputy mayor, chief of staff, district attorney, hell even the police commissioner was killed." Quentin said.

"What about the city council?" Oliver asked.

"A few of them survived, since they weren't here, but Pollard and Kullens were both among the casualties." Quentin said.

"Of course they were. And I'm assuming a certain alderman is already trying to capitalize on it." Oliver said.

"Yep." Quentin said.

"Thanks for the update. Looks like Slade has improved his game in this universe. I gotta give him some credit, he may be a madman right now, but he is efficient." Oliver said.

"On that we agree. Look Oliver, I know he ended up not being a complete bastard in the end, since he did help save us from Lian Yu, but right now, my daughter is in his crosshairs. I lost her once." Quentin said.

"And if he tries to make history repeat itself on that, I'll make him wish he died on the Amazo." Oliver assured Quentin.

"Just wanted to be sure we were clear on that." Quentin said.

"The last time I fought Slade, I did so with one hand tied behind my back and my mother died because of it. I want to save him, but if it comes down to a choice between him and everyone else I care about, he will die by my hand." Oliver said.

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who stands a chance at accomplishing that feat. Well besides Sara and who knows when she is right now." Quentin said and Oliver chuckled before hanging up and sitting down at his desk, wondering how he was going to respond to Slade's new plans.


	37. Chapter 37

When Oliver arrived at the bunker he found that he was the last one to arrive.

"What's the plan? The city's in panic after the attack this morning. SCPD is going crazy trying to keep everything from descending into chaos." Rene said, since he and Dinah were both their SCPD informants, along with Lance.

"The DAs office is in disarray too since Kate Spencer was among the victims." Laurel said, since she'd recently accepted a job there.

"And the media is not helping much. If anything, they're just making things worse." Felicity said.

"Of course they are. John, anything from Lyla?" Oliver asked, but John shook his head.

"Lyla is still dealing with the fallout of taking over Argus from Amanda Waller. She can't afford to help us right now." John said.

"Okay then, looks like it's just us." Oliver said.

"So, we going after Slade?" Rene asked.

"If we knew where he was right now, yes, but at the moment we don't know, so our main priority is to help the SCPD restore calm and order to the city, especially the Glades." Oliver said and they all nodded.

"What's the plan?" Laurel asked.

"I'm assuming the Glades is the area in the most disarray?" Oliver asked Rene and Dinah.

"Yep." Dinah said.

"Then that's where we focus on. Tell Quentin to have the SCPD focus more on the rest of the city, we will handle the Glades." Oliver said.

"Oliver, shouldn't we also go after both of the people that we know Slade is associated with, AKA, Isabel Rochev and Sebastian Blood?" John asked.

"We can't go after either of them without proof of their crimes. Knowing Slade, he'd love to have us attack a city alderman or vice president of a huge company, since it would focus the SCPD's attention on us instead of him. We have to be smart about this." Oliver said, right as the computers beeped.

"What's that?" Oliver asked as Felicity checked the system.

"Satellites have detected an assassin heading towards Iron Heights." Felicity said.

"Okay, but still, that alone wouldn't have alerted our system, even if they are headed there to get my mom." Oliver said.

"You're right. The reason our system detected them is because of who it is." Felicity said.

"Well, don't leave us in the dark." John said.

"It's Emiko." Felicity said, stunning them.

"What's she doing here? It's a bit early isn't it?" Rene asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me if she's working with Slade, considering how much she hated me. And I'm willing to bet that she's going to Iron Heights to kill my mother." Oliver said.

"So I'm guessing that's where you're going?" Laurel asked.

"Yep. John, you're in command." Oliver said.

"Oliver, you sure you don't want back up?" John asked.

"I'm the only one who stands a chance of subduing Emiko long enough to restore her memories, especially since I don't need the memory gun to do it." Oliver said.

"I thought you were saving your spectre energy." Laurel said.

"This is one of those cases I've been saving it for. It takes a minimal amount to restore people's memories." Oliver said.

"And if Emiko is still an enemy even after she remembers what happened?" Rene asked.

"Then I'll deal with her." Oliver said as he activated his ring and deployed his suit before walking out of the bunker before anyone could say anything to him.

* * *

"Emiko, I thought I told you to stand down. This is not a part of my plan." Slade's voice said to Emiko over her comms as she headed towards Iron Heights.

"I don't work for you, I'm helping you because we have a common interest. But this is personal." Emiko said.

"I told you that you'd get your chance to kill Moira Queen, but not until I say so. You risk jeopardizing my plans for your own self interests." Slade said.

"You should listen to the man. Slade may be a maniac, but he knows tactics. Emiko." Green Arrow said as he landed on the rooftop across from her.

"You know who I am?" Emiko asked.

"I do. And I know what you've done and that you know who I am." Green Arrow said.

"Really, so what do you know about what I've done? Oliver." Emiko asked.

"I know that you had the chance to warn our father about the Gambit and you didn't. You let him die, you let me go through 5 years of the worst kind of hell." Oliver snarled, making sure his act was believable.

"You deserved it." Emiko said.

"Tell me something, how would your mother feel about you being a killer for the Ninth Circle." Oliver asked her.

"Don't you even mention her. I didn't want any of this, but we all do things we have to in order to survive." Emiko said as she raised her bow at him and he did the same to her.

"You sure you want to do this? Slade will be pissed if you kill me." Oliver said.

"The Ninth Circle can handle him, especially since we're the ones funding his plans." Emiko said as they both let their arrows fly before charging at each other.

* * *

Emiko was quickly regretting fighting her brother, since Oliver was far more skilled than Slade had described.

"You may be good Emiko." Green Arrow said as he knocked her back on her ass.

"But you're not good enough to beat me." Green Arrow said as he walked up to her and held an arrow at her chest.

"Go ahead. Do it." Emiko said, but to her surprise, Oliver lowered his bow.

"No. I won't kill my family. Not even you Emiko." Green Arrow said and before she could do anything else, Oliver tapped her forehead, causing Emiko a bit of a pain before it cleared.

"Oliver." Emiko asked.

"You still want to kill me sis?" Oliver asked and Emiko chuckled as she took his extended hand and he helped her up.

"Only for the headache you gave me. Though I guess I deserve it after what happened between us and considering the fact that I was trying to kill your mom." Emiko said.

"What's important is that you're not going to now right?" Oliver asked.

"No, I'm going to spend my life atoning for my actions." Emiko said.

"You can start by telling me everything you know about Slade's plans." Oliver said and Emiko nodded as they headed back to the bunker.


	38. Chapter 38

When Oliver returned to the Bunker, the rest of the team were only half surprised to find Emiko with him.

"So, I see Oliver restored your memories." Rene said as Emiko stopped.

"Yeah. I just want to take a minute and say that I am truly sorry for everything I did to you guys. I was convinced that Oliver and by extension, the rest of you for following him, deserved everything I was doing. I just wanted to make the Queen Family feel as terrible as they made me feel." Emiko said.

"No offense, how exactly can we be sure that she's telling the truth?" John asked, since they'd been burned by enemies pretending to have reformed before, only to be betrayed.

"You really think I'd take her word alone? Memories restored or not, I'm not taking any chances. Only reason I brought her here is because if it turns out this is a trick, even she can't beat all of us." Oliver said and Emiko sighed, since she should've known that Oliver would not be willing to trust her so easily.

"So, how do we determine if she's telling the truth?" Laurel asked.

"By calling in a mind reader." Oliver said.

"J'onn." John said.

"Exactly. Figured if anyone would be able to tell if Emiko was telling the truth, it would be a martian with the power to read minds." Oliver said.

"I thought you believed me." Emiko said to Oliver.

"I want to Emiko, but I've been burned by this tactic before and always paid a high price for it. I can't take any chances." Oliver said and Emiko sighed, since she should've known that it would be harder to regain her brother's trust than it had appeared.

"So, when will J'onn get here?" Thea asked, right as said martian walked in.

"Right now." J'onn said.

"Okay, that was incredibly well timed." Felicity said.

"I have my moments. Now, what's going on? I can't stay for long since Supergirl is offworld, it's kind of on me and the rest of my team to keep National City safe her absence." J'onn said.

"Where is she?" Oliver asked.

"Checking out something that the Monitor told her about. And not crisis." J'onn said.

"So you know about that?" Oliver asked.

"Yes and Novu's timing was extremely poor." J'onn said.

"Why, what were you guys doing?" Thea asked.

"That's something for Supergirl to tell you when she returns." J'onn said.

"Can't wait to hear it. Though I hope it doesn't mean another alien invasion." Oliver said.

"No, we're currently in between those right now. So far all aliens on the planet that we know of are peaceful." J'onn said.

"Great." John said.

"Okay, so I know that you did not ask me to come here just to give you an update on current alien matters." J'onn said dryly.

"You're right, I did not. I'm sure you've noticed an unfamiliar face." Oliver said, referring to Emiko.

"Why do you think I didn't use Supergirl's real name?" J'onn asked.

"This is my sister Emiko. I restored her memories, but considering how she was an enemy in the old reality until right before her death, I was hoping you could confirm her intentions, since while she says she's reformed and I want to believe her, I can't take a chance that this is a trick." Oliver said and J'onn nodded in understanding as he turned to Emiko.

"I hope for your sake that you are not lying." J'onn said as his eyes glowed and Emiko grimaced as she felt J'onn's power invade her mind.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked her.

"It's not exactly a pleasant experience." Emiko said.

"I thought you said it wouldn't hurt her." Oliver asked J'onn.

"It's normal to feel a bit of discomfort, especially if it's the first time I've read her mind." J'onn said as the glow in his eyes faded.

"Well?" Rene asked.

"Another reason she felt discomfort is because of how deep I had to go in order to be certain of her intentions. And I could find nothing but sincerity. Any intentions she had of betraying you died when you reminded her of who her real family is." J'onn said and Oliver nodded as they all relaxed.

"Thank you J'onn." Oliver said.

"Of course. I trust we'll be seeing each other again soon." J'onn said as he left and Emiko sighed in relief as everyone began to relax around her.

"So, I guess you really are on our side now." Rene said.

"I am. And like I promised Oliver, I'll tell you everything I know about Slade's plans, since they are different than they were in the original universe." Emiko said.

"That can wait, right now, the city needs us to keep the peace." Oliver said and they all nodded as they headed back out.


	39. Chapter 39

As Team Arrow was finishing suiting up, to head back out, a breach opened and Cisco jumped out.

"Cisco, what brings you by?" Oliver asked before he noticed the case Cisco was holding.

"Special delivery and I'm guessing it's well timed." Cisco said.

"I'm guessing that's the mirakuru cure?" Roy asked.

"Yep. I know that right now Slade is likely the only Mirakuru soldier you have to deal with, we figure it doesn't hurt to have a backup supply, just in case." Cisco said as he handed the case to Oliver.

"You thought correctly. Thank Caitlin for me." Oliver said and Cisco nodded.

"Good luck. I gotta get back." Cisco said as he breached out.

"So, I'm guessing this changes the plan a bit." Thea asked.

"Emiko, where is Slade hiding?" Oliver asked.

"He's based in a penthouse off 6th and Maple. But Oliver, that place is heavily fortified. No way to get in undetected." Emiko said.

"Maybe, but knowing Slade, he'll likely let me pass, since he'll want to deal with me face to face." Oliver said.

"That's a pretty big gamble to take. Especially since we both know that Slade won't exactly play fair right now. I'll admit, the man I eventually saw Slade become proved otherwise, but right now, he has no honor." John said.

"I know. But I also know that Slade is obsessed with revenge on me. He'll want to settle it personally. Especially if I call him out." Oliver said.

"Even so, how are you going to get out of there after you cure him?" John asked.

"I restore his mind. Trust me, when Slade and I actually work together, it's not pretty for anyone opposing us." Oliver said.

"I hope you're right." Laurel said.

"I know what I'm doing. Besides, the city is still in panic." Oliver said as Quentin entered the bunker.

"Dad, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out trying to help restore peace?" Laurel asked.

"I should be asking you the same question." Quentin said.

"We were about to head out, but now I have a lead on Slade's location." Oliver said.

"Good, because I have a feeling that he's the reason the riots are only getting worse." Quentin asked.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"SCPD has had numerous calls of men in masks that sound a lot like deathstroke masks popping up and actually leading some of these charges." Quentin said.

"Wouldn't be surprised if it was Slade's men that started the initial riots." Oliver said.

"He's moving a lot faster than he did before." John said.

"His plans have clearly changed. We need to adapt to it. I'll deal with Slade, the rest of you focus on dealing with his thugs and calming things down in the city." Oliver said and they all nodded, though some were rather reluctant to let him go alone.

* * *

Green Arrow landed on the building across from the complex Emiko told him about.

"No guards, yeah, this isn't a trap." Green Arrow said.

"Of course it's a trap kid. And you fell right into it." a voice from behind him said and Green Arrow turned to see the original Deathstroke standing in front of him.

"Slade." Green Arrow said, not even surprised, since he half expected this.

"I'm surprised that you're not shaking with fear now kid." Deathstroke said.

"I'm not afraid of you Slade. You might've scared me once, but I'm not the same kid you once knew." Green Arrow said.

"Posture all you want. We both know you can't beat me. I taught you everything you know." Deathstroke said.

"I've picked up a few new tricks since then. We don't have to do this though Slade." Green Arrow said, knowing it was pointless.

"Yes we do. I've dreamt of nothing but this for years. After all these years, I will finally get justice for Shado." Deathstroke said.

"You say that like I was the one who killed her. You forgot that I loved her too. And Slade, she wouldn't want this." Green Arrow said.

"She'd want you to pay. Everything I have done and will do is for her." Deathstroke said.

"And she would be horrified by everything you've done in her name. Shado was a good person. She never would've wanted her memory to inspire you to do anything like this." Green Arrow said.

"Enough of this. You really thought that you could talk me down?" Deathstroke demanded.

"Call it wishful thinking." Green Arrow said.

"I call it stupidity of the highest level. Even for you." Deathstroke said as he unsheathed his sword.

"Figured it was worth a shot. Now let's get this over with." Green Arrow said as Deathstroke lunged at him and he barely managed to raise his bow in time to block the blade as the two former friends clashed.


	40. Chapter 40

Deathstroke was surprised when instead of his blade slicing through his former friend's skull like he was expecting, it clashed against the Green Arrow's bow, who proceeded to knock it away and used his bow like a bo staff.

"I never taught you how to fight in close range. You always preferred distance." Deathstroke said as he began to see that not only was Green Arrow a match for him, but to his surprise, he was actually being outmatched by his opponent.

"Like I said, I've picked up a few new tricks since then. You may have taught me a lot of what I know, but you didn't teach me everything I know." Green Arrow said, since honestly, this was almost too easy, since now he'd fought men twice as strong as Slade currently was and had won. Hell, he'd fought aliens and magic and come out on top. Slade did not stand a chance against him since while he may still be the Green Arrow, he was something more now. He was still the Spectre. And Deathstroke did not stand a chance against that.

With that revelation, Green Arrow felt as if something inside of him was unlocked, but he was too busy staying ahead of his opponent to think give it anymore thought, though he would focus on it later.

Anyways, as the two of them fought, both got senses of deja vu, though each of them was different. For Deathstroke, it was the last time they fought on the freighter while for Green Arrow, it was the last time they fought each other at the end of the last siege.

"Slade, don't do this. This isn't what Shado would want. And even if it was, it won't bring her back." Green Arrow said.

"Shut up." Deathstroke shouted as the two of them fought.

"You need to let her go. Look at yourself Slade. If she were still here, she would be horrified at the man you've become." Green Arrow said.

"Do you really think that this talk would somehow get me to stand down?" Deathstroke asked.

"No, but it did distract you." Green Arrow said as he fired two bolo arrows and restrained Deathstroke to a wall.

"You beat me." Deathstroke said, stunned.

"Not the first time that's happened. And just like before, you underestimated me. Seems to be your greatest flaw." Green Arrow said.

"So what happens now kid. You gonna finish what you started back on the freighter?" Deathstroke demanded as Green Arrow removed his helmet.

"No Slade, I'm not going to kill you." Green Arrow said.

"Really, you didn't seem to have any qualms about it before." Slade said.

"Last time I had no choice. This time I do." Green Arrow said as he injected the cure into Slade's neck.

"What did you just do?" Slade asked.

"I cured you. No more Mirakuru." Green Arrow said.

"It wasn't the mirakuru that made me hate you." Slade said.

"Actually it was." Green Arrow said as he placed his hand on Slade's head and concentrated as he used his spectre energy to not only restore Slade's memories, but also his sanity.

"Do I even want to know how you did that kid?" Slade asked and Green Arrow chuckled as he heard no malice in Slade's voice and cut him free.

"I told you I've picked up some new tricks. But now I need to be sure they worked. What are you now? Friend or foe." Green Arrow asked him.

"Neither. I'm your brother." Slade said and Green Arrow grinned as he held out his hand to Slade, who shook it.

"Welcome back Slade." Green Arrow said.

"Good to be back." Slade said.

"Well, this is touching, but can I ask why you aren't killing him?" a new voice said and both Slade and Oliver turned to see another guy in Deathstroke armor standing at the far end of the roof.

"Which one of your sons is that?" Green Arrow asked as Slade put his helmet back on.

"Grant. Stand down." Deathstroke said.

"No. After all this you suddenly stand down? After everything we've done?" Grant asked.

"I was wrong. The Mirakuru warped my mind. Oliver Queen is not my enemy. He's my friend." Deathstroke said.

"Then you are not my father and you are not worthy of that mask." Grant said as several Deathstroke soldiers appeared.

"I'm guessing they won't listen to you if you tell them to stand down?" Green Arrow asked and Deathstroke shook his head no.

"Looks like Grant was already planning on betraying me." Deathstroke said.

"Your vision was too limited and you thought too small. It was only because you recruited me that your plans evolved to become as effective as they've been." Grant said.

"Sounds like both your sons hate you." Green Arrow said to Deathstroke.

"Shut up." Deathstroke said as they both readied their weapons.

"Kill them both and bring my father's helmet. He doesn't deserve it anymore." Grant said as the soldiers swarmed them.

* * *

Back at the bunker, John had taken command of the team after Oliver had left and was now devising a plan to help the city.

"Okay, so what's the plan hoss?" Rene asked.

"We split into teams for maximum coverage. Pair up. Roy and Thea, Rene and Dinah and Emiko will join Laurel and I." John said.

"You still don't trust me do you?" Emiko asked.

"J'onn may have confirmed that you've changed, but I've been burned by a sibling before and we lost a teammate because of that. I'm not taking any chances. You may have earned back Oliver's trust, but you still have to earn mine." John said.

"I get it. I'm not expecting you to trust me just because my brother says you can. Trust has to be earned." Emiko said and John nodded, right as the computers beeped.

"What's going on?" Thea asked as Felicity checked the computers.

"Well, let's just say that Emiko can be Rene's partner now." Felicity said.

"What are you talking about? Why can't it be me?" Dinah asked.

"Because our system just detected Vigilante sniping down mirakuru soldiers." Felicity said.

"Where is he?" Dinah asked.

"Right now he's on the corner of Fifth and Prescott." Felicity said.

"John." Dinah said.

"Go. Take the memory gun with you." John said.

"Oliver didn't take it with him for Slade?" Rene asked.

"Oliver doesn't need the gun to restore Slade's memories thanks to his powers." John reminded him.

"Thank you for trusting him." Dinah said.

"Dinah, I said take the memory gun with, but don't shoot it until you know who it is under that mask, just in case it's someone else in this reality." John said and Dinah nodded in agreement.

"I hope it's him, since this time, I'm not letting him die. Not again." Dinah said.

"Who is she talking about?" Laurel asked, reminding all of them yet again that she was not her doppelganger and therefore was not aware of who Vigilante was.

"Vigilante is a former enemy turned ally from the old earth. His real name was Vincent Sobel and he was Dinah's partner and boyfriend in the old reality. It's a long story." Rene said.

"Clearly, but you think we can trust him?" Laurel asked her fellow Canary.

"If it really is him under that mask in this reality, then yes." Dinah said and Laurel nodded, deciding to trust Dinah and hope that it worked out for them.

"Okay then, let's move out." Dig said as they headed out.


	41. Chapter 41

Vigilante was perched on a rooftop overlooking the mirakuru soldiers, sniping every single one he could get down when he heard someone approach him.

"Whoever you are, don't try and stop me." Vigilante said.

"Even if I can offer you a more effective means of taking down this army. Vince." a familiar female voice said and Vigilante turned to see the Silver Canary standing in front of him.

"Why do you think my name is Vince?" Vigilante asked.

"Because I know you Vinnie. Better than anyone." Silver Canary said and before Vigilante could question it, she removed her mask to reveal the face of none other than his former partner, Dinah Drake.

"Dinah." Vigilante asked.

"I took off my mask Vince. The least you can do is return the favor." Dinah said and Vigilante sighed, knowing she was right as he removed his mask and Dinah's breath hitched at seeing Vince's face alive again.

"I thought you were dead." Dinah said.

"I am sorry about that Dinah, but to do what I'm doing, I had to cut all ties with my former life." Vince said.

"Vince, it doesn't have to be that way. This life, it doesn't have to be solitary. No one can save a city themselves. You need a team." Dinah said.

"What, like you are? Following the Green Arrow?" Vince asked.

"Yes. And hopefully this will convince you." Dinah said and before Vince could ask what she meant, Dinah pulled out and fired the memory gun at him, restoring his memories of before the crisis.

"So, it sounds like you and Queen patched things up?" Vince asked and Dinah nodded.

"Oliver is my friend and my leader. I trust him with my life. You can trust him too. Vince, you died because you went in alone. Best way to do this is with a team behind you." Dinah said.

"I know you're right." Vince said.

"Still have a hard time admitting that don't you?" Dinah asked with a chuckle.

"We can discuss this more later, but right now, the city could use some saving." Vincent said.

"You're not wrong." Dinah said as they put their masks back on.

"So, want to go save it?" Vigilante asked.

"With you by my side. Always." Silver Canary said with a grin as they headed down towards the ground where the actual fighting was going on.

* * *

"Do you think these guys have realized they're outmatched?" Green Arrow asked Deathstroke as they fought their way through the troops Grant had brought with him and even with the mirakuru in him, it was clear that these thugs were outmatched.

"Not sure, none of these thugs ever were too bright." Deathstroke said as he brought his sword on another one of his troops.

"Explains why they were so willing to follow you." Green Arrow said.

"Really?" Deathstroke asked.

"You tried to destroy my city, I think I'm entitled to taunt you a bit." Green Arrow said and Deathstroke shrugged.

"Fair enough." Deathstroke said as they continued to take out the Deathstroke soldiers until finally, only Grant was left.

"Give it up. You can't beat us both." Green Arrow said.

"You really think I'm stupid enough to try?" Grant asked as he dropped a flash bomb, which blinded his father and the Green Arrow long enough for him to escape.

"Any point in searching for him?" Green Arrow asked Deathstroke, who shook his head.

"I trained him myself kid and you know how good I am at stealth." Deathstroke said and Green Arrow nodded.

"We don't find him unless he wants to be found." Green Arrow said and Deathstroke nodded his confirmation of that.

"Okay then. Overwatch, what's the status of the rest of the city?" Green Arrow asked over the comms.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about us for a minute. The team has managed to restore calm to the city for right now, though the government is still in chaos, but there isn't much we can do about that yet." Overwatch said.

"True. Okay then, I brought Deathstroke around, we're going to reconvene at the bunker with the others." Green Arrow said.

"Copy that, but there is something I should warn you about." Overwatch said.

"What?" Green Arrow asked.

"Deathstroke and Emiko aren't going to be the only reformed villains in the bunker when you get back." Overwatch said.

"Meaning?" Green Arrow demanded.

"Vigilante made an appearance tonight and Dinah restored his memories." Overwatch said, taking Green Arrow aback for a second before he got his bearings. Okay, we will deal with that when I get back to the bunker, but do me a favor, give the others a warning and let Tsunami know that while she can blast him, don't shoot to kill." Green Arrow said.

"No promises. I'll try, but don't forget, your sister's not the only one with a grudge against Slade." Overwatch said.

"I know, she's just the most likely to attack first without listening." Green Arrow said.

"Fair enough." Overwatch acknowledged.

* * *

When Oliver and Slade entered the bunker, Slade found himself on the receiving end of a water blast that sent him flying into a wall.

"Seriously Speedy?" Oliver asked Thea, who looked way too smug about what she'd done.

"What, the man killed mom, stole our company, left us broke and tried to kill us at least 5 times, he's lucky I didn't drown him." Thea said and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"True, but did you need to hit him that hard?" Oliver asked.

"I wanted it to hurt." Thea said.

"It's alright kid. I'll admit I had that coming." Slade said.

"So, you gonna try and kill us?" John asked Slade.

"Only if you become my enemies for real." Slade said.

"Not helping Slade." Oliver said.

"Hey, I figure if they're willing to give your sister a shot, then maybe they can give me one too." Slade said.

"He's got a point." Emiko said.

"Okay enough. Where's Vigilante?" Oliver asked Dinah.

"Right here. Had I known you were bringing him here, I'd still be packing." Vince said as he made his presence known.

"Try it and powers or not you'd be dead and not because Slade killed you." Oliver said.

"Really?" Vince asked, looking at Dinah.

"Slade tried to kill me because he had a drug in his system that made him insane. He's been cured of it. What was your excuse for every time you tried to off me or my team?" Oliver reminded him and Vince couldn't come up with a response to that.

"You're willing to trust two mass murderers, but not me?" Vince asked.

"They've earned my trust back, whereas you have not. You're only here because Dinah is vouching for you and I trust her. But if this turns out to be a trick." Oliver said.

"Then I'll deal with him myself." Dinah assured Oliver, since she wasn't going to make the same mistake as before. She wasn't going to allow her feelings for Vince to cloud her judgement. Not again. Never again.

"Good. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we should discuss more important matters. Like the state of the city." Oliver said and they all nodded in agreement.


	42. Chapter 42

Laurel was surprised when she woke up that night to find that she was alone in bed, since she'd finally caved and agreed to move into the mansion with Oliver.

After slipping her robe on over her nightgown, she went downstairs to find him sitting in the living room.

"You okay?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah sorry if I woke you." Oliver said.

"Hey, it's fine. But I have to admit, back in the old days, waking up alone in bed after falling asleep next to you would be a turn off and a red flag." Laurel said and Oliver chuckled.

"You know you're probably the only girl I didn't do that to before Lian Yu." Oliver said.

"I'm flattered. But anyways, what's got you up? It's not Slade, since he's on our side now, still trying to wrap my head around that idea, so what is it?" Laurel asked.

"While I was fighting Slade earlier, something happened to me. My powers, I could tell they were weakened, like I'd used too much of them already, but suddenly, I felt like they not only got a recharge, but they were supercharged. I haven't felt this kind of energy since." Oliver said.

"Since you were dead Mr. Queen?" Mar Novu said as he appeared.

"Why am I not surprised to see you." Oliver said as Laurel quickly checked her robe to make sure nothing was showing.

"I sensed when your powers reached their full potential and I came to help explain the reason for it." Novu said.

"And that reason would be?" Oliver asked.

"The reason your powers were limited before was because you yourself were limited." Novu said.

"Meaning what exactly?" Oliver asked.

"It appears that the only reason you did not have access to the full force of your spectre powers is because you were not the Spectre. At least not mentally. But while you were fighting Slade Wilson." Novu said.

"That was the first time since the Vanishing Point that I accepted that I was the spectre. I told myself that I wasn't the same person I was the last time Slade and I had fought, I was more than just the Green Arrow. I was the spectre. And I guess now I still am." Oliver said and Novu nodded.

"So, Oliver now has access to the full powers of the Spectre? I thought he had to be dead in order to wield that kind of power?" Laurel asked.

"And normally yes, but Oliver was already dead. The powers of the spectre remained within him." Novu said.

"I thought you said that a living human body can only handle a limited amount of the spectre's energy." Oliver said.

"Which is why I'm here." Novu said as he tapped Oliver's forehead.

"What did you just do to me?" Oliver asked as he felt the energy in him die down.

"I blocked off your powers, since while you could safely manage the limited amount of power you had accessed too, your body cannot handle maintaining the power of the spectre, since doing so is the only way to ensure that you will survive the final battle." Novu said.

"What do you mean?" Laurel asked as she gripped Oliver's hand tightly.

"The reason Oliver died after he released the spectre energy is because that energy is what was keeping him alive. Had I not blocked it off Oliver, your body would've become dependent on spectre energy to survive." Novu said.

"So does that mean that I'm cut off from my powers?" Oliver asked.

"For now. In times of extreme distress, you will be able to access the limited portions you had access to before, but when the crisis comes, I will remove the block, since that way, you will still have access to the full power of the spectre, but you will not be dependent on it to survive." Novu explained and Oliver nodded, since that did make sense.

"Well, thank you, I guess." Oliver said as Novu vanished.

"Well, how do you feel knowing that you can't use your spectre powers whenever you want anymore?" Laurel asked her boyfriend.

"Honestly, kind of relieved. All I really used that juice for was restoring people's memories. I don't need it to be a hero. It's better to save it all for the big throwdown." Oliver said and Laurel nodded.

"I know that you don't need those powers to be a hero." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.

"C'mon, let's get back to bed, big day tomorrow." Oliver said.

"Yeah, your mom's release. I like how she didn't even need a trial this time around." Laurel said.

"This time she backed out before anyone got hurt and made a deal with feds like we hoped she would, since in exchange for a lighter sentence, she told them everything she knew about Malcolm's criminal enterprise, minus Tommy of course. So she got a year in iron heights, and then probation, which for her, includes wearing an ankle bracelet at all times so that the feds can keep tabs on her, but at least it's not house arrest." Oliver said and Laurel nodded in agreement.

"Though I have to admit, things worked a bit too well for her. Though it might have something to do with the fact that J'onn and Alex were most likely involved in the deal making." Laurel said.

"Probably. And once she's out, I'm going to start making some changes." Oliver said.

"Like what?" Laurel asked.

"I'm going to step down as the CEO of Queen Consolidated and place Emiko in charge, since she'd be much better at it and she actually wanted to run the company. After that, I'm going to start making plans to run for mayor, since the city is going to need leadership now more than ever." Oliver said.

"On that we agree. And from what Thea told me, you were pretty good at being mayor. Better than you were at being a CEO. The only reason you got impeached is because you were set up by Diaz." Laurel said and Oliver nodded his agreement as they headed back up to bed.


End file.
